E paper pdf (3 05 2017) (lhr)

CMYK

wednesday, 3 may, 2017 I 6 Sha’ban, 1438 I rs 20.00 I Vol VII no 305 I 20 Pages I lahore edition

CCI meeTIng held In ISlamabad

PM orders to fast track develoPMent Projects g

ccI ends nepra’s sovereIgnty

pakistan rejects Indian talks offer on Kashmir g

advIser sartaJ says IndIa has scuttled all opportunItIes for a MeanIngful dIalogue STORY ON PAGE 04

CJP forms 3-member bench to oversee JIT proceedings STORY ON PAGE 02

nawaz opens layyah-taunsa brIdge

pakistan marching on path of progress: pM STORY ON PAGE 03

SC to hear petition on dismissal of Imran, Tareen STORY ON PAGE 03 ISLAMABAD

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AHMAD AHMADANI

rIMe Minister Muhammad nawaz sharif while chairing a meeting of the council of common Interests (ccI) here on tuesday directed completion of all projects within approved costs and scheduled timeline ensuring utmost transparency. he gave the directive during the cII meeting which was attended by punjab chief Minister shehbaz sharif,

sindh chief Minister Muraz ali shah, Khyber pakhtunkhwa chief Minister pervez Khattak and balochistan chief Minister snaullah zehri. during previous tenures, the development projects did not complete in time and the cost over-run was a routine matter, prime Minister nawaz said. on the occasion, the Inter-provincial coordination division secretary briefed the meeting regarding implementation status of decisions taken in the last ccI meeting held on december 16, 2016.

considering the inquiry into corruption charges in the Kacchi canal case, the council unanimously decided that exemplary punishment be accorded to all the officials involved in the case. earlier, the council constituted a four-member committee under the chairmanship of former chief justice tassaduq hussain Jillani to investigate irregularities and corruption in the Kachhi canal project.

govt won’t make abbottabad commission report public: Info minister STORY ON PAGE 02

CONTINUED ON PAGE 03

maryam, JOurnalISTS behInd Panama PaPerS exChange FIre On TwITTer In a Farewell leTTer

STORY ON PAGE 04

dgmOS make hOTlIne COnTaCT

Fatemi rejects involvement pakistan asks for actionable in ‘news leak’ controversy evidence on ‘loc violations’ g

’such suggestIons are partIcularly hurtful to soMeone who has served paKIstan for nearly fIve decades wIth honour and dIgnIty’ STORY ON PAGE 02

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paKIstanI general urges IndIan counterpart to looK Inward to probe soldIers’ KIllIng, fIrIng along loc

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Issue of contInuously targetIng Innocent cIvIlIans In aJK by IndIan troops also hIghlIghted STORY ON PAGE 03

02 NEWS

Wednesday, 3 May, 2017

PANAMA VERDICT

CJP forms 3-member benCh to oversee JIt ProCeedIngs JUSTICE KHOSA AND JUSTICE GULZAR WHO WROTE DISSENTING JUDGMENT NOT INCLUDED IN THE SPECIAL BENCH ISLAMABAD

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Shah Nawaz Mohal

hief Justice of Pakistan Justice Mian Saqib Nisar has constituted a threemember bench, headed by Justice ejaz Afzal Khan and comprising Justice Sheikh Azmat Saeed and Justice ijaz-ul-Ahsan, to oversee the Joint investigation Team (JiT) here on Tuesday. interestingly, all the three judges of the special bench gave the majority decision in Panama verdict and they agreed to form a JiT to probe further into the allegations leveled against the PM and his sons by imran Khan of

PTi, Siraj-ul-haque of Jamaat-e-islami and Sheikh Rasheed Ahmed of Awami Muslim League.

Justice Asif Saeed Khosa and Justice Gulzar Ahmed both wrote the dissenting judgment in which they called for Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s disqualification were not included in the special bench.

According to Supplementary Cause List issued late on Tuesday night, the special bench will meet for the first time today (Wednesday) at 1:30pm.

Moreover, the Supreme Court of Pakistan here on Tuesday appointed Additional Registrar Muhammad Ali as the coordinator of special cell that will facilitate communication between

SC ALSO APPOINTS COORDINATOR TO FACILITATE COMMUNICATION BETWEEN JIT AND SPECIAL BENCH

special bench and Joint investigation Team (JiT) in probing matters related to PM Nawaz Sharif and his family properties overseas. Deputy registrar and assistant registrar of the Supreme Court will facilitate additional registrar in this regard. The role of coordinator will be one of conduit between special bench and JiT whose primary role will be to facilitate communication between the two.

As per the Panama verdict, the Joint investigation Team will comprise one official each from National Accountability Bureau, federal investigation Agency, Security and exchange Commission of Pakistan, State Bank of Pakistan, inter-Services intel-

ligence, and Military intelligence. The JiT will submit its final report within 60 days, however, on fortnightly basis the JiT will submit its progress report to special bench.

Justice Khosa-led 5 member bench heard a plethora of petitions submitted by opposition parties and heard the arguments by both respondents and petitioners counsels from 4th January till 23rd february and reserved the judgment. On April 20, 2017, the 3-2 split decision was announced where three judges called for further probe into financial affairs, offshore companies and foreign investments by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and his two sons hassan and hussain Nawaz.

IN A FAREWELL LETTER

Fatemi rejects involvement in ‘news leak’ controversy ‘SUCH SUGGESTIONS ARE PARTICULARLY HURTFUL TO SOMEONE WHO HAS SERVED PAKISTAN FOR NEARLY FIVE DECADES WITH HONOUR AND DIGNITY’ ISLAMABAD STaFF REPoRT

Special Assistant to Prime Minister on foreign Affairs Tariq fatemi has rejected the allegations levelled against him in connection with the inquiry into a ‘news leak’ controversy, after a news story appeared in a leading english daily. “i reject recent allegations, insinuations and innuendos,” fatemi said in a farewell letter. “Such suggestions are particularly hurtful to someone who has served Pakistan for nearly five decades with honour and dignity,” he said. fatemi’s response comes as Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Saturday issued directives for his removal as the special assistant in line with the recommendations of the committee set up to hold an inquiry into a story published in Dawn newspaper last year. hours after the Prime Minister’s Office issued the directives, however, the inter-Services Public Relations said that the army had ‘rejected’ the notification, calling it ‘incomplete.’ “Notification on ‘Dawn Leak’ is incomplete and not in line with recommendations by the inquiry board. Notification is rejected,” accord-

ing to the iSPR tweet.

“Over the years, i have had to deal with many sensitive matters, becoming privy to some of the most highly classified information, on issues of national security,” fatemi said in the letter addressed to his colleagues at Pakistan’s foreign missions. “i have also had the honour of working directly under distinguished diplomats, both professional as well as political appointees, all of whom reposed their highest trust in my abilities and particularly so, in my lifelong commitment to discretion. You would appreciate that taking due care and caution become a second nature in our professional careers.” fatemi thanked his fellow foreign Service officers for their support. “Be that as it may, my commitment to Pakistan, my passion for diplomacy and my association with the foreign Service family will continue,” he said. he said his nearly four years long stint at the Ministry of foreign Affairs enhanced the esteem and respect that he has always had for country’s diplomats... who bear the rigors of serving with limited resources in difficult environments, defending and promoting the nation’s interests, against huge odds. in November last year, the government had

formed a committee to probe the October 6, 2016 story, which reported the details of a high-level civilmilitary meeting discussing the issue of banned outfits operating in Pakistan. initially, the PM Office had rejected the story, but the military had mounted pressure to demand a probe into the matter to determine those involved in disclosing the details of the meeting.

The committee subsequently initiated an inquiry to identify the persons responsible for disclosing the details of the meeting to Cyril Almeida, who wrote the story. The publication of the story led to the sacking of Senator Pervaiz Rasheed as the information minister, as the government realised he (Rasheed) should have told the paper not to publish it. fatemi, 72, was born in Dhaka in 1944. he joined the foreign service at the age of 29 in October 1969. his career as a diplomat spans 35 years, with a number of high-profile appointments around the world. Upon retirement, fatemi joined the PML-N, assisting the party on foreign policy matters. in the absence of a foreign minister, both Adviser Sartaj Aziz and fatemi played a crucial role advising the prime minister on matters pertaining to foreign affairs. Before he was asked to resign, fatemi was serving as special assistant on foreign affairs. Apart from his illustrious foreign service appointments, fatemi has held teaching positions at the foreign Service Academy, the National Defence University and the Administrative Staff College, among other educational institutions.

Wah terrorists were members of Is: police Two suspected terrorists killed Monday in Wah were members of the militant islamic State (iS), a police official said on Tuesday.

“The terrorists belonged to iS and had planned to attack sensitive installations and government targets in the area,” Saddar ShO Wah Yasir Rabbani said.

Rabbani recalled that the terrorists were killed a day ago in an exchange of fire with Pakistan Rangers personnel.

Law-enforcement authorities had also registered a first information Report (fiR) against the deceased and booked them under the explosives Act and on charges of terrorism and resisting police.

The police official also said that the postmortem for the terrorists had been completed as per the instructions of an antiterrorism court (ATC).

The two were named as Safatullah and Mohammad Abbasi. Safatullah’s body was taken by his brother to Peshawar for the funeral, while Abbasi’s body has yet to be claimed and is present at the District headquarters hospital. The two were killed in a Rangers-conducted search operation in connection with the ongoing operation Raddul fasaad on Pind Mallhi Road in Wah Cantt. The suspected terrorists had opened fire on security forces from an underconstruction house. Rangers claimed to have recovered a large cache of arms and ammunition, including a suicide vest, four grenades, one Kalashnikov with 25 rounds and a 30-bore pistol with seven rounds from their hideout. NEwS DESK

dawn Leaks report be presented in nA: PtI demands islaMaBaD: Pakistan Tehreek-e-insaf (PTi) has formally submitted a resolution in the National Assembly Secretariat, demanding that the ‘Dawn Leaks inquiry Report’ be presented before the National Assembly forthwith.

The resolution was submitted by PTi MNA Murad Saeed in the NA Secretariat on Tuesday in which he demanded that the inquiry report pertaining to the Dawn Leaks should be presented before the house sans any delay.

The resolution reads, “The Ministry of interior presents complete report compiled and submitted by investigation commission on the famous “News Leak Scandal” before the house without any further delay.”

Murad Saeed said that the government should prove by its action that the parliament was supreme, because the sanctity and image of the august house was badly tarnished due to the actions and attitude adopted by the government.

The PTi MNA said that the sanctity of the parliament house badly damaged owing to the lies by the Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on the floor of the house during his speech. he said that the parliament should be given priority on all issues including national security and all issues should be presented and debated there, because it was the supreme institution. haMID KhaN wazIR

Govt won’t make Abbottabad Commission report public: Info minister MARRIYUM SAYS DRAFT FOR LEGISLATION TO ENSURE JOURNALISTS’ SAFETY IS UNDERWAY ABBOTTABAD aGENCIES

The Abbottabad Commission report has not been made public keeping in mind the national security, Minister of State for information and Broadcasting Marriyum Aurangzeb said on Tuesday. “When the right time comes, the report can be published by any government be it of Nawaz-League or any other party,” she said while addressing the workers of Abbottabad electronic Media Association.

Aurangzeb replied to a question, saying people have a right to know what actually happened, but some things should be tackled in context of their sensitive nature.

On May 2, 2011 the leader of alQaeda, Osama bin Laden, was killed during a raid in Abbottabad.

Later, a commission was formed to investigate the matter, but its report has not been officially made public yet by the government. Reported by the same paper in December 2016, Chairman of Abbottabad Commission Justice (r) Javed iqbal has demanded that the commission report be made public emphasising that the commission has identified those responsible for the incident.

Speaking to media, Javed iqbal said the commission’s report only focused on identifying those responsible for what happened. in July 2013, a senate body also asked the govern-

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ment to make the inquiry commission report public following a leak of the report to the international media.

Journalists’ safety: The state minister for information also spoke about journalists’ safety, saying the camera used to report stories is insured but no one cares about the person working behind it. She said draft for a legislation to ensure journalists’ safety was underway. “The draft will be presented in the national assembly in three months.”

Aurangzeb added reporters and camerapersons work for the country and the rights of its people, therefore, they deserve to be protected. Moreover, she maintained, when a journalist is hired, media houses seldom invest in their capacity building. Aurangzeb said talks were under way to solve such issues faced by journalists. in the backdrop of the tension between the civilian government and

the military over the Dawn Leaks issue, there have been voices from pro-democracy quarters urging the government not to back down and, instead of acquiescing to the military’s demands about proper treatment of the enquiry, the reports of commissions like the ones of the Abbottabad raid and the attack on journalist hamid Mir should be made public.

Wednesday, 3 May, 2017

NEWS

03

DGMOs MAKE HOTLINE CONTACT

PAkIstAn Asks for ACtIonAbLe evIdenCe on ‘LoC vIoLAtIons’ ISLAMABAD/NEW DELHI

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aGENCIES

AKiSTAN on Tuesday informed india that the Pakistan Army is a professional military outfit and upholds highest standards of conduct thus allegations of mutilation are attempt to divert world attention from situation within the indian-held Kashmir (ihK).

The military commanders of the Pakistani and indian armies made hotline contact in the Rawalakot-Poonch areas along the Line of Control (LoC) in the wake of indian allegations. The Pakistani commander told his indian counterpart that there had been no ceasefire violation or crossing of the LoC by the Pakistani troops, so the mutilation of the bodies of indian soldiers was not possible. “indian authorities were also told

that there is unnecessary media hype following the allegations, and that Pakistan remains fully committed to maintaining peace and tranquility along the LoC and expects the same from the indian side,” according to a press release, issued by the inter-Services Public Relations.

The Pakistani commander asked for actionable evidence and urged that the indian Army should look inward to probe the incidence and also cautioned his indian counterpart that they were fully committed to maintain peace and tranquility along the Line of Control. however, any disadventure shall be appropriately responded at a place and time of own choosing, he said. he also highlighted the issue of continuously targeting innocent civilians on the Line of Control by the indian troops and apprised him that continuity of such action would invite

appropriate response. The Pakistani commander expressed hope that prudence would be exercised across the divide and no steps would be taken that may affect peace along the LoC and lead to a worsening of the environment.

The indian allegations come days after Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa visited the LoC in the haji Pir sector of Azad Jammu Kashmir and reiterated support to the cause of Kashmiri people. The haji Pir sector is in haveli district and Battal sector is in its neighbouring Poonch district.

Referring to atrocities in the india-held Kashmir, General Bajwa had said that even though the people of Pakistan could not remain indifferent to the barbaric treatment meted out to defenceless Kashmiris, the Pakistan Army would however keep its response purely in the military do-

main in accordance with its values. in New Delhi, Pakistan’s high Commissioner to india Abdul Basit also rejected the indian allegations about ceasefire violation at the Line of Control and mutilation of bodies of the indian soldiers. Abdul Basit was summoned by india’s Ministry of external Affairs on Tuesday, indian media reported. indian external Affairs secretary also handed over a letter to Abdul Basit. The high commissioner rebuffed the indian allegations and stated that no ceasefire violation was committed by Pakistan at the Line of Control and the allegations were baseless. in January 2013, india had made a similar allegation that Pakistani troops had killed and mutilated two indian soldiers in Mendhar sector, but investigations by the Pakistan Army had found no evidence of the deaths.

NAWAZ INAUGURATES Rs 7 BILLION LAYYAH-TAUNSA BRIDGE

Pakistan marching on path of progress: PM LAYYAH aPP

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif Tuesday said the country was marching on path of progress and prosperity and rejected the politics of mud-slinging and blame-game being practiced by his opponents.

“We consider politics as a service to the people and will continue to serve them with devotion and dedication,” he said while addressing a gathering here after ground-breaking of the Rs 7 billion Layyah-Taunsa Bridge.

The prime minister said the new bridge would lessen the distance between Layyah and Taunsa by about 150 km and now the people of area would now reach the indus highway in half-an-hour. he announced supply of natural gas for Chowk Azam, Krore and fatehpur to fulfill the long-standing demand of the people, besides construction of a new 50 km long rural road and re-modelling of the Thal Canal. Nawaz Sharif also announced the Prime Minister’s healthcare Card Scheme for the area through which the government would fully

fund treatment of the poor, who would now need not sell their property or take loans anymore for the purpose. he said all the designated hospitals would provide free of charge treatment and medicines to the people suffering from serious ailments. he said his government was proud to have launched a string of development schemes, unlike the opponents, who despite having government in a province and tall claims of making a new Pakistan had in reality pushed the country towards backwardness. The prime minister said all areas of economy were progressing as the government was equally focusing on them. he appreciated what he described as the “one-mile long gathering” and said he was shocked to see empty chairs in the recent “jalsi” – a minuscule gathering of his opponents. Over ten such ‘mini public gatherings’ could be accommodated in the today’s PML-N gathering, he added.

The people, he said, had rejected such leaders in the general election 2013 and today’s gathering was a reflection of the way things would turn up in 2018. The prime minister said had there been no tent, the opposition would have been shocked to

see the mammoth gathering. The “sea of people” had come out to support the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and his government.

The prime minister said he was in Layyah to launch a new string of development programmes. he said when he came to power he had promised an end loadshedding and initiated a number of power projects and added he had already inaugurated a few while many them were nearing completion. “By next year we will add 10,000 MW to the national grid. it will not only be abundant, but also cheap,” he added. he said for the farmers the prices of Urea and DAP fertilizers had already been reduced, which would be further dropped in the coming days. The prime minister named the parliamentarians of the area and appreciated their dedication and devotion, saying they were his friends.

“Once a friend is a friend forever,” he added. he said the enemies of Pakistan did not want to see completion of the China Pakistan economic Corridor (CPeC) as they were against development, employment opportunities, construction of roads and bridges, and an end to load-shedding.

sC to hear petition on dismissal of Imran, tareen PML-N LEADER FILED PETITION AGAINST TWO PTI LEADERS FOR NOT DECLARING ALL ASSETS TO ECP islaMaBaD: The Supreme Court will restart hearing a petition seeking the dismissal of Pakistan Tehreek-i-insaf (PTi) Chairman imran Khan and Secretary General Jahangir Khan Tareen here on Wednesday. The petition, filed by hanif Abassi of the Pakistan Muslim League-N, accuses the two PTi leaders for not declaring their assets to the election Commission of Pakistan (eCP) and seeks to unseat them based on alleged violations of the lncome Tax Ordinance 1979 and Peoples Act 1974. Amidst a heightened political backdrop, a three-member bench comprising Chief Justice Mian Saqib Nasir, Justice Umar Ata Bindial and Justice faisal Arab will start hearing the petition. The petition was accepted by the apex court in November last year by then chief justice Anwar Zaheer Jamali. Abbasi, through his counsel Muhammad Akram Sheikh, seeks the PTi leaders’ disqualification under charges of false declaration before the eCP, non-disclosure of assets in offshore companies, and for being a foreign-funded party. The petition argues that by failing to disclose the existence of Niazi Services Limited, an off-shore company allegedly owned by the PTi chairman, to the eCP, imran stands in violation of the income Tax Ordinance of 1979. Additionally, he claims that the ‘off-shore company’ has consistently been submitting its financial documents to the relevant authorities in the Channel islands, where the company is said to be based. Abbasi maintains that imran Khan failed to formally declare his ‘off-shore company’ to authorities in Pakistan and opines that imran’s intention to establish the offshore company, which was dissolved in October 2015, was rooted in tax evasion. furthermore, he argues that imran Khan failed to disclose his Rs2.97 million purchase of a luxury apartment in islamabad.

“That is a violation of the Peoples Act of 1974 and can result in the dismissal of PTi Chairman imran Khan,” he argued. in November last, the PTi, too, had filed a petition to dismiss Abbasi’s petition. The PTi had reasoned that the petition against them was ill-intentioned, citing Abbasi’s electoral defeat at the hands of imran Khan in NA-56, Rawalpindi. Over the past two years, the eCP too, has been hearing a petition against the PTi. This petition, filed by Akbar Babar, alleges that PTi uses foreign funding to fuel its political campaigns in Pakistan. The eCP is expected to deliver its verdict on May 8. aGENCIES

Prime Minister orders to fast track development projects Continued from page 01 former secretaries Dr Waqar Masood Khan and Yousuf Naseem Khokar and Water and Power secretary Muhammad Younus Dagha were members of the committee, which held former WAPDA chairman Zulfiqar Ali Khan, officials of Water and Power Ministry, Planning Commission and the WAPDA as responsible of irregularities and corruption that caused Rs 26 billion loss to national exchequer.

The project was originally designed to meet the irrigation requirements of Balochistan and was part of the Vision 2025. According to a copy of the inquiry report, the 500 kilometres long Kachhi Canal project, which was started in 2002, is still under construction, while the construction work was initiated without feasibility study. The WAPDA awarded the contract in wrong manners, it said.

Similarly, cost of the project surged from Rs 31 billion to Rs 76 billion however, the project remained incomplete and still under construction due to the ignorance of the officials and ministries concerned. Also, cost of the project has once again increased to Rs 102 billion. There is no imple-

mentation in maintaining required standards mentioned in the planning, designing, and construction of the project.

Besides, WAPDA has now assured to complete the Kachhi Canal project by December 2017.

The command area of the project upon completion is Jaffarbad, Dera Murad Jamali, Naseerabad and Kachhi. On completion, the project is expected to augur well for removal of inter-provincial mistrusts and national integration, the inquiry report said.

During the Tuesday meeting, the CCi directed all provincial representatives to hold meeting with the Planning and Development minister to finalise matters pertaining to higher education and other similar bodies in post 18th amendment scenario.

The council approved the financing of the National flood Protection Plan phase-iV at an overall cost of Rs 177.661 billion on 50/50 share basis by the federal government and the provincial governments. for the agenda item of import of LNG, it was decided that the summary would be circulated to all provinces for soliciting comments and be presented in the next meeting.

The council expressed satisfaction over the sixth population

and housing census. The Ministry of finance assured that the census would be completed within the scheduled timeline with utmost transparency. The Ministry of Climate Change briefed the meeting that detailed consultations on National forest Policy 2015 had been completed with all provinces.

The policy only provides for additional federal technical and expert advice as well as coordination with international forums with whom Pakistan is signatory to international protocols and agreements. forests, itself being a provincial subject, shall remain under control of provincial governments for the purposes of implementation.

The Water and Power minister informed the council that issues regarding settlement of net hydel profit (NhP) between WAPDA and the Punjab government had been settled wherein WAPDA had issued a promissory note in favour of the provincial government amounting to Rs 38.12 billion while a tariff petition is under review for filing with NePRA for recovery of the profit arrears.

The council approved amendments in the Regulation of Generation, Transmission and Distribution of electric Power Act, 1997.

CCI ENDS NEPRA’s SOVEREIGNTY ISLAMABAD: The Council of Common Interests (CCI) on Tuesday approved to put an end to the sovereignty of National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) pertaining to the determination of electricity tariff for end consumers. According to a statement issued by Prime Minister Office Press Wing, the CCI approved amendments in the ‘Regulation of Generation, Transmission and Distribution of Electric Power Act, 1997’.

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif Tuesday chaired 31st meeting of CCI, which was attended by chief ministers of Punjab, Sindh, Khyber Pukhtunkhwa and Balochistan. The meeting discussed 12-point agenda and took up summaries/proposals of provincial governments of Balochistan, Sindh, and Khyber Pukhtunkhwa as well as of various ministries including the Inter-Provincial Coordination (IPC), water and power, petroleum and natural resources, cabinet and finance divisions for discussion and necessary approvals.

Inter-Provincial Coordination Division secretary briefed the meeting regarding implementation status of decisions taken in the last CCI meeting held on December 16, 2016.

Sources privy to the development informed Pakistan Today that the approved amendments in the NEPRA Act will now be tabled in the National Assembly for necessary approval. They said CCI has approved to withdraw the powers of NEPRA pertaining to the determination of end consumer tariff of the electricity and handed over the authority to the Power Ministry. Also, approval to

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implementation on NEPRA Act, powers to prepare rules pertaining to tariff and licensing have been given to the Water & Power Ministry by CCI. With effect to CCI approval to amendments in the act, collection of funds from power consumers for development projects, tariff for Nandipur Power Plant and other power projects, implementation of all orders of federal government by the NEPRA etc have been made, sources said.

The sources also said that amendments in NEPRA Act have been presented in CCI without getting NEPRA’s opinion on the matter, while NEPRA Vice-Chairman Saifullah Chattha was present in the meeting but he did not utter a single word over a practical end to the sovereignty of power sector regulator (NEPRA) It is also learnt that after the approval of CCI, federal government will be authorized to collect funds from the power consumers for electricity development projects of the country. The government will devise a five year national electricity plan. And, NEPRA will now seek directions from the Power Ministry for power tariff determination with effect to the CCI approval to the amendments in the act. They said Punjab CM Shehbaz Sharif and Sindh CM Syed Murad Ali Shah have criticized NEPRA and declared it (NEPRA) responsible of the destruction of entire power sector of the country.

They said CM Shahbaz Sharif told the meeting that he has set solar power tariff at 6 cents but NEPRA was hurdle in this regard. ahMaD ahMaDaNI

04 NEWS

Wednesday, 3 May, 2017

ASIM RIAZ IN HOT WATERS

HDIP’s AsIM To fAce DIscIPlINAry AcTIoN for levellINg AllegATIoNs AgAINsT ogrA OGRA WRITES TO CABINET DIVISION AGAINST ASIM ISLAMABAD

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HAMID KHAN WAZIR

YDROCARBON Development Institute of Pakistan (HDIP) has taken a strong exception to the letters written

by Asim Riaz, a senior research engineer at HDIP, to OGRA and ordered necessary disciplinary action against him for ‘his irresponsible attitude and willful misconduct’.

HDIP Director General Muhammad Shafeeq had written a letter in response to OGRA’s letter dated April 11, 2017, a copy of which is available with Pakistan Today, in which he stated that the contents of the letters written by Asim Riaz were thoroughly studied, discussed and analysed and the technical issues raised by him are not related to this institution.

It was stated that Asim Riaz has written a letter in his private capacity; however, by writing such letter he violated the official channel of communication, office discipline, general good order and service conduct; hence necessary disciplinary action is in hand for his irresponsible attitude and misconduct.

The letter reads, “OGRA is a well-

PTI chairman to address 6 public gatherings in May ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) has announced the schedule of public gatherings to be addressed by PTI Chairman Imran Khan. The PTI has announced the next round of the public meetings on Tuesday, which are to be held in various cities of the country. The party’s chairman will address six public gathering during the month of May in all the four provinces of the country for building pressure on Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to resign so as that the Joint Investigation Team (JIT) could conduct an impartial and unbiased investigation of the Panama Leak scandal. According to details, the PTI chairman will address a public gathering in Nowshera on May 5, 2017, the home constituency of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Chief Minister Pervez Khattak. Two public gatherings would be held in Punjab, as the PTI chairman will address a public meeting in Sialkot on May 7, while Khan will address another jalsa in Sargodha on May 12. HAMID KHAN WAZIR

respected organisation of the country, which is regulating the Oil and Gas sector efficiently.”

It is also clarified that HDIP under its act of 2006 has not been authorised either to perform such functions or to regulate issues highlighted in a private letter written by Asim, the letter added.

It is pertinent to mention here that Asim Riaz wrote a letter to OGRA Chairperson on March 16, 2017 in which he stated that OGRA is partly responsible for deaths in CNG and LPG sector, caused by gas cylinder blasts because it occurred due to its incompetence.

He wrote another letter to OGRA dated April 5, 2017 that petrol tanks of most of the public service vans were rusted as drivers run the vehicle only on CNG due to price differential and added that this improvisation was a result of OGRA’s failure to regulate the sector. He said that OGRA was supposed to be a watchdog for stakeholders, however, it turned out to be one that did not watch interests of some and extremely lenient to the others.

Furthermore, he wrote that the Chief Inspector of Explosives (CIE) does not

have the technical manpower to approve the design of CNG storage cylinders and layout plan of CNG stations.

“OGRA fines and fee are ultimately paid from the pockets of the general public while OGRA officials enjoy executive pay scales which are manifolds than BPS of equivalent grade, besides fringe benefits, given to an average joe like me,” the letter reads.

In a tit-for-tat response, OGRA wrote letters to Cabinet Division and HDIP and requested to take action against him for levelling frivolous allegations and maligning OGRA as an incompetent regulator.

The authority in a letter written to the Cabinet Division stated that Asim Riaz used the name of its organisation in the covering letter and has even attributed the use of corroded petrol tanks and improvised petrol fuel systems in public service vehicles/vans to OGRA. He tried to hold the authority responsible for things which have nothing to do with it as the use of petrol tanks or its associated fittings in a vehicle are certified by the Motor Vehicle Examiner, the Transport Department, the letter read.

Besides, the said officer has raised a number of issues on the pre-qualification process of LPG equipment manu-

facturers without complete knowledge on the subject and process being adopted, which is highly regretted.

“We request that such irresponsible letters may be probed and necessary action may be taken accordingly,” the letter reads.

OGRA has not been mandated, under its Ordinance 2002, to check every vehicle plying on road, its fitness and road worthiness. Most accidents in CNG/LPG sectors have occurred due to illegal and substandard practices carried out by ignorant persons. Since, these LPG cylinders are made of poor quality sheets and other substandard material which cause unfortunate loss of human lives, as well as damage to public property.

OGRA does not have the policing powers, therefore, the Provincial governments in this regard are requested regularly to take strict action under the law against the person involved in the illegal manufacturing substandard LPG, CNG equipment cylinders.

“HDIP is requested to inform this office the action, if any, taken in light of the letter of OGRA dated 30-3- 2017.

Furthermore, HDIP is also requested to furnish its official verdict on the enclosed letter and its contents, written by the said officer, at the earliest please,” OGRA letter reads.

Pakistan rejects Indian offer of bilateral talks on Kashmir ISLAMABAD STAFF REPORT

Adviser on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz on Tuesday said that India’s contention that Kashmir issue is, primarily, an issue of ‘cross-border terrorism,’ is a claim that no one in the world is prepared to accept today.

In a statement, he said that the Indian government has broken its own record of brutality in the Indian-held Kashmir (IHK), not only in target killing but also by indiscriminately killing over 100 young unarmed Kashmiri protesters.

The Indian forces have blinded hundreds of Kashmiris, including children, and injured over 16,000 protesters with live ammunition, pellet guns and gas shells. “That is why, The New York Times newspaper labelled the year 2016 as a “Year of dead eyes” in Kashmir,” he said while quoting a leading American daily.

“Nobody believes that thousands of young boys and girls, who have been agitating ceaselessly since July 2016 are

terrorists,” Sartaj said. India cannot ignore the fact that the Kashmiri people are losing faith in Indian democracy since in the recent sham by-election in Srinagar on April 9, the voter turnout was only 7% and while during re-polling, it fell to 2%, the adviser pointed out.

He also said that the second byelection in Anantnag has been postponed to May 25 and India’s Election Commission has demanded thousands of additional troops to be able to conduct the poll. The OIC’s declaration adopted by the 13th Summit in Istanbul in April last, out-rightly rejected Indian attempts of equating the Kashmir freedom struggle with terrorism.

The discovery of over 7,000 unnamed and unmarked mass graves have proven through forensic analysis, undertaken by independent investigators, that those buried were Kashmiris belonging to the disputed state.

Political analysts and members of civil society from across the globe have concluded that the large-scale uprising, which is going on in the disputed state, involving mostly young unarmed

Kashmiris confronting fully armed Indian forces, clearly shows that Kashmir was a burning issue requiring urgent international attention, he said.

The adviser said that Pakistan has always welcomed the statements and endeavours aimed at addressing the human rights issues in the disputed Kashmiri state and the resolution of the Jammu Kashmir issue.

Sartaj said that the recent offer of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to strengthen the dialogue process among the stakeholders for resolving the Kashmir issue and his call for a multilateral approach to settle the Jammu Kashmir issue with an immediate end to bloodshed in the disputed state must be welcomed.

In this context, he said the Indian counter proposal that it was ready for bilateral dialogue with Pakistan was no longer credible because in the past two decades India has scuttled all opportunities for a meaningful dialogue to resolve the Kashmir issue in accordance with the UN Security Council’s relevant resolutions on Kashmir.

PTI MPA insults PPP lawmaker with 'distasteful remark' NEWS DESK The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly session on Tuesday had already been marred by chaos as opposition lawmakers protested alleged irregularities in the distribution of funds across the province, but the situation worsened after one MPA made a distasteful remark directed at a female counterpart from the opposition.

According to reports, Deputy Speaker KP Assembly Dr Meher Taj Roghani had allowed the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf's Public Health Engineering Minister Shah Farman to address the House amidst the ongoing

protest against the disbursement of public funds.

While Farman attempted to speak, PPP MPA Nighat Orakzai interrupted his address to allege that a significant amount of development funds were diverted to Nowshera while several other districts were neglected. Nowshera is the constituency of KP Chief Minister Pervez Khattak.

On hearing this, the PTI lawmaker said Orakzai had been misinformed and asked her to "meet [him] separately" so that he could explain the disbursements of funds to her.

Upon hearing this, a ruckus broke out in the KP Assembly and all opposi-

tion lawmakers started protesting the 'indecent' remark made by Shah Farman.

Later, Orakzai also went to the residence of KP Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser to record her protest against the insult.

While talking to a private TV channel, the PPP lawmaker said the KP Assembly speaker had assured her that a proper inquiry would be initiated into the matter.

“You are like a sister to me and I will ensure that justice is served in this case,” Orakzai quoted Qaiser as saying.

He also said that he would take up the matter with PTI chief Imran Khan, said Orakzai.

CMYK

A similar incident had occurred in Sindh Assembly in January, when PPP MPA Imdad Pitafi, the provincial minister for works and services, caused a furore in the Sindh Assembly when, in response to a question asked by PML-F lawmaker Nusrat Sahar Abbasi, he invited her to his chamber for what he called a "satisfactory reply".

MPA Abbasi had lodged a severe protest over this. She requested all women in the province and the country to stand up with her against "shameless men".

"This is not a personal issue, this is a problem in every household," she had asserted.

Maryam, journalists behind Panama Papers exchange fire NEWSDESK Maryam Nawaz on Tuesday took to twitter to share her thoughts on Panama Papers controversy. She had proceeded by calling the Panama Papers scandal, which rocked some of the most powerful public office holders around the world, "crap".She doubled down on that statement by tweeting that the scandal was "never about corruption". Unexpectedly, Bastian Obermayer — a Pulitzer-winning journalist from German publication Süddeutsche Zeitung who was the first to receive the Panama Papers and who eventually took the lead in breaking the story internationally — stepped in at that point to set the record straight. "Sorry to tell you," he said, "but the Panama papers ARE about corruption." Maryam retorted saying that the "misery of the journalists" who broke the Panama story "is understandable". She also expressed "regret" over what she alleged was a "nexus" between the Panama Papers journalists and their "Pakistani counterparts" and said it was "sad that they became a part of conspiracy against Pakistan". Minutes later, Frederik Obermaier, another Pulitzerwinning journalist who worked on the Panama Papers and who co-authored the authoritative book on the international scandal with Bastian Obermayer, joined the conversation. He reminded Maryam that the scandal had not been as inconsequential as she believed. The conversation eventually subsided after Maryam Nawaz stopped tweeting.

Pakistan calls for adequate funds for UN peacekeeping New York: Speaking at the UN's Fifth Committee, Pakistan's Ambassador to the UN, Maleeha Lodhi called for adequate resources for Peacekeeping Missions in order for them to effectively carry out their critical and diverse tasks.

She said that cuts in the peacekeeping budget with an expectation 'to do more with less' were unsustainable and unacceptable. This demand is on the basis of its [Pakistan] rich experience as one of the world's top troop contributors to the UN, she said, adding, "We share our perspective as a major stakeholder and leader on the subject." Pakistan, Lodhi said, is proud to be one of the largest and most consistent contributors to UN peacekeeping, having served in 41 Mission in 23 countries since 1960. “We currently have over 7000 personnel deployed in 8 peacekeeping operations, including 7 in Africa. 144 of our peacekeepers have made the ultimate sacrifice in the line of duty”, she added. Recalling the 2015 Leaders' Summit on peacekeeping, the Pakistani envoy said that as the co-host, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, made substantial pledges to strengthen peacekeeping operations around the world. These pledges, she recalled, included deployment of an infantry battalion and field hospitals. This was testimony that Pakistan’s “commitment to UN peacekeeping remains as strong as ever”, she emphasised. Ambassador Lodhi called for putting in place fair, realistic and permanent mechanisms by the UN for review and updating of troop cost and reimbursements. She also made a case for appropriate representation of the Troop Contributing Countries at the leadership and senior levels in the field and at UN headquarters, commensurate with their participation, as this would provide them with an avenue to offer inputs based on their ground experience. AgENcIES

Wednesday, 3 May, 2017

NEWS

China interested in resolution of regional ConfliCts, inCluding Kashmir mEdiating BEtwEEn india and PakiStan OvER kaShmiR iSSuE COuld BE thE tOughESt ChallEngE BEIJING

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APP

iven the massive investment that China has made in countries along the One Belt, One Road, China now has a vested interest in helping resolve regional conflicts, including the disputed Kashmir issue.

By playing the role of a mediator between Myanmar and Bangladesh, China can gather experience, which could perhaps serve as a prelude to future efforts

by China to engage in regional affairs in South Asia and Southeast Asia, Global Times Tuesday reported.

By playing the role of a mediator between Myanmar and Bangladesh, China can gather experience, which could per-

haps serve as a prelude to future efforts

by China to engage in regional affairs in South Asia and Southeast Asia, Global Times on Tuesday reported.

China has been at the centre of a regional power shift, thus the country now needs to learn how to act as a stabilising force and conflict mediator in the region.

For instance, while China has the capability to resolve conflicts through mediation given its increased economic influence, the nation needs to be very prudent in dealing with other big powers, india included, in the region.

The newspaper opined that China’s

Pakistani wrestlers denied visas to participate in championship in india KARACHI AGeNCIeS

The indian High Commission has denied visas to Pakistani wrestlers who were to represent Pakistan in the Asian Wrestling Championship being held in india between May 10 and 14.

“45 days ago, we applied for our indian visas. We have just found out that the indian High Commission has rejected the visa applications of our players and officials,” revealed Pakistan Wrestling Federation (PWF) Secretary Muhammad Arshad. Pakistani wrestlers Muhammad inam Butt and Muhammad Bilal were set to participate in the five-day contest taking place in Delhi.

“Our federation will write a complaint to United World Wrestling and demand that india be stripped off its right to host international events unless it guarantees that visas will be issued to all participating players, including players from Pakistan,” Arshad said while speaking to a private news channel. it is becoming all too common for Pakistani players to find their visas rejected by

indian authorities. The result can be quite damaging for the players, as their absence from international tournaments can seriously dent their rankings in the international circuit.

According to a press release issued last month by the Pakistan Squash Federation (PSF), the body was forced to withdraw its squash contingent from participation in 19th Asian Senior Squash Championship 2017, scheduled to be held in Chennai india between April 26 and April 30.

The PSF claimed it had lodged its visa applications more than a month in advance but they were eventually rejected.

Similarly, in December last year, india did not issue Pakistan's junior hockey players the visas that they needed to be able to participate in the tournament, a press release issued by the Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) said. The international Hockey Federation had claimed that the PHF failed to submit its player's travel documents on time — a claim strongly rejected by the PHF. in 2015, a Pakistani under-17 wrestling contingent missed out on an opportunity to play in india due to similar reasons.

10 suspects refuse to accept charges in mardan lynching case PESHAWAR: As many as ten suspects on Tuesday refused to accept charges laid against them in the Mashal Khan lynching case. According to reports, two staffers and eight students of Abdul Wali Khan University were brought in court after completion of their remand. The defendants rejected the charges before the magistrate, however, the judge ordered to send the suspects back to jail on judicial remand till May 16. The police have informed that 47 of the 49 accused in the case have been arrested for their alleged role in the lynching and were in jail on judicial remand; however, two suspects, including a councillor were on the run. The Mardan DPO had stated earlier that there were reports indicating the two absconding accused were hiding in tribal areas. The prime suspect in the murder case, imran confessed to his crime before a city magistrate. in his confessional statement, imran said that he opened fire at Mashal because the deceased was guilty of blasphemy and he did not regret killing him. imran, a fellow student of Mashal, had fired three shots at Mashal Khan, of which two hit the deceased. The pistol used in the murder has also been seized. StAff RePoRt

recent mediation between Myanmar and Bangladesh over Rohingya issue shows the increased ability of Beijing in resolving conflicts beyond its borders to maintain regional stability.

Myanmar is a key point along the One Belt, One Road route. While China has gradually increased its investment in the country’s western Rakhine state, religious and ethnic conflicts in the turbulent region have increasingly become a source of concern for Chinese investors, and are creating obstacles for Beijing and naypyidaw to find a sustainable model for future economic cooperation.

05

The Rohingya issue has long been a cause of instability in the Rakhine state; therefore China has a strong interest in helping tackle the issue to ensure regional stability. China could strengthen the delivery of humanitarian assistance to the hundreds of thousands of Rohingya Muslim refugees who have fled to Bangladesh from Myanmar. What’s more, China’s recent involvement in resolving the Rohingya issue could help get Bangladesh and Myanmar back to the negotiating table to shoulder their responsibility for coping with the Rohingya refugee crisis.

China has always adhered to the principle of non-interference in the internal affairs of other countries, but that doesn’t mean Beijing can turn a deaf ear to the demands of Chinese enterprises in protecting their overseas investments. in fact, mediating between india and Pakistan over Kashmir issue would perhaps be one of the toughest challenges to China in dealing with regional affairs to safeguard its overseas interests.

MQM Pakistan to reorganise in Punjab SattaR CRitiCiSES gOvERnmEnt fOR nOt making thE CPEC a PuBliC PROjECt LAHORE SAMIULLAH RANDHAWA

Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) Pakistan is the only political party trying to resolve the problems of the masses. The leadership of the party has started reorganising the MQM Pakistan in Punjab to work for the people here.

These views were expressed by Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) Pakistan leader Farooq Sattar, while addressing a press conference at the Lahore Press Club, on Tuesday.

The party will increase contacts with the citizen of Punjab to initiate practical struggle against the system, adding, people of Punjab are facing numerous problems for past many decades, including poverty, unemployment, traffic issues, etc.

“Lahoris are facing a shortage of clean drinking water,” he said, adding that local bodies’ representatives are deprived of their rights as well. “i appeal to the people of Punjab to join our

BEIJING APP

China-Pakistan economic Corridor (CPeC), jointly constructed by China and Pakistan, is the flagship project of ‘One Belt and One Road’ and has created more than 13,000 new job opportunities for Pakistan. it also has become a model of mutual benefit of ‘One Belt and One Road’ a number of foreign envoys commented during their separate interviews with CCTv. About ‘One Belt and One Road’ international cooperation summit forum which is scheduled to be held this month, they said early harvest of ‘One Belt and One Road’ is fruitful; they expect the forum to achieve more consen-

‘envoy’ to save the rest Pakistan,” he said.

Showing his reservation on the China-Pakistan economic Corridor (CPeC), Sattar said the project has been controversial because much of its details are not made public.

The party leader said that the government has said that around 35,000megawatt electricity would be added to the system but it hasn’t given any information about the rates at which it would be distributed.

However, Sattar admitted that Kala Bagh Dam issue should be resolved as water resources were much important for the survival of the country and.

Sattar, while criticising the Punjab government’s Kissan Package, said that most of the farmers are still deprived of government’s assistance.

“The amount of money distributed under the Kissan Package was just in documents,” he said, adding that sugar cane growers did not receive their due payment because of the feu-

dal and mills owners’ nexus.” He invited farmers to join hands with MQM Pakistan for quick resolution of their problems.

“We have potential to remove all the problems country is facing today,” he said, adding that whenever they decided to become politically active in Punjab, the party started facing problems in Karachi.

“Our image is being represented similar to MQM London which is an injustice,” Sattar said, adding that all allegations against them are false.

He said that except the Panama Papers case, no other government was investigated over massive corruption.

The Supreme Court of Pakistan will have to continue the accountability process, he added. Sattar, while demanding the Supreme Court to probe into the looted wealth of around 3,000 billion rupees, said that another Joint investigation Team should be made to probe the corruption of leaders. “nAB alone cannot eradicate the corruption unless a system of accountability is being adopted by political parties within them”, he concluded.

CPEC represents mutual benefits of ‘One Belt and One Road’ suses and build a more open and efficient platform for international cooperation, thus to promote international economic prosperity.

‘One Belt and One Road’ is by far the most important public product provided to the world by China. it is initiated

by China but shared by other countries.

Kazakhstan is the first country to conduct capacity cooperation and develop strategy connectivity with China.

Central and eastern european countries also actively participate in

the construction of ‘One Belt and One Road’. The Czech ambassador said that ‘One Belt and One Road’ would bring the new opportunity of economic development not only to the Czech Republic but also to the region of Central and eastern european countries.

The foreign envoys said the upcoming ‘One Belt and One Road’ international cooperation summit forum would help plan a long-term vision of cooperation and inject momentum for global economic growth.

06 LAHORE

Wednesday, 3 May, 2017

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Low-dose aspirin may lower breast cancer risk: study

LAHORE: A repairer is seen repairing cars for children at the Neela Gumbad area. zUBAIR mAHFOOz

Police 15-building attackers’ death sentences upheld by LHC LAHORE: A Lahore High Court division bench on Tuesday upheld the death sentence of three convicts of an attack on the offices of Police 15 and an intelligence agency in 2009 that killed 23 people and injured others. The division bench headed by Justice Sadaqat Ali Khan passed the orders while dismissing appeals of Abid Akram, Sarfraz and Shabir against their conviction. During the hearing, the defence counsel arguing before the court pleaded that the convicts were not named in the FIR. He said that the convicts were in the police custody even before being convicted. He asked that the court to overturn the conviction as no solid evidence was available against the convicts. However, a deputy prosecutor general opposed the request and submitted that the convicts were identified during the identification parade and they also confessed involvement in the offence during the interrogation. He pleaded to the bench to dismiss the appeals. On January 30,2015, an anti terrorism court awarded death penalty on 47 counts to Abid Akram, Sarfraz and Shabir for attacking Police 15 building on May 27,2009 killing 23 persons and injuring scores of others. APP

ALLegAtions AgAinst tHe govt Are bAseD on Lies: sHeHbAz sHAriF LAHORE

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STAFF REPORT

HE chief minister, while talking to the newly elected representatives of the PMLN, said that Pakistan is progressing towards prosperity under the leadership of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. He said that load-shedding will end with the completion of the energy projects in 2018. Transparency maintained in the projects carried out in this government’s tenure is unprecedented in the country’s history, he added.

He said that the enlightened people of Pakistan were aware of the

opposition’s intentions behind their allegations. Those who allege the government of corruption are themselves involved in graft, such as land grabbing and writing off of loans.

“Niazi Sahib go and chastise those who wrote hefty loans off and those who grab land of the poor instead of hurling allegations at the government whose governance has been as transparent as it possibly could” CM said. He said that lock down of Islamabad by the PTI was an impediment to economic development of the nation.

The chief minister said that the energy crisis will end under the leadership of PM Nawaz

Sharif, once the ongoing projects are complete. He added that the agriculture sector of Pakistan would reap benefits from these projects too.

“Economy is strengthening due to the policies of the PML-N government and thousands of new employment opportunities are being created which is worrying the political opponents of the PML-N” he said.

Three gas based energy projects that would add 3600MW to the national grid are all set to complete, whereas, the Bhikki power project would add 717 MW to the national grid.

CM hails media as cornerstone of democracy LAHORE STAFF REPORT

In his message on the Press Freedom Day the Punjab Chief Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif said that responsible journalism is imperative for the formation of public opinion and for creating awareness among the public.

He said that free press plays a vital role in the strengthening

Child maid allegedly tortured in Faisalabad FAISALABAD: A child maid was allegedly tortured and later fired from her job at midnight on Tuesday in Faisalabad. The incident took place in the Civil Lines area of Faisalabad Tuesday, when Jawad, the employer, allegedly tortured a 12 year old maid and forced her out of his house at midnight. The residents of Civil Lines found the maid and protested against the brutal conduct of Jawad outside his house. The Civil Lines Police immediately came to the scene and shifted the girl to the Police station for medical examination. The police said that action would be taken against the responsible individual after they receive the medical report. ONLINE

of democracy in a country and that journalism is a noble profession through which the downtrodden masses raise their voices against injustices in the society.

He added that the main objective of celebrating this day is to highlight the importance of the free press. He said that free media keeps a check on the public figures and exposes any misdemeanor on their part. He added

that provision of safe environment to the journalists is one of government’s top priorities.

He said that the PML-N government believes that freedom of expression forms the basis of any democratic society.

The CM also urged the media to carry out its duty in a diligent manner and to guide the people on their fundamental rights and obligations.

LAHORE: Women who regularly take a low-dose aspirin had a lower risk of breast cancer, according to a latest study. The study used data from more than 57,000 women who were part of the California Teachers’ Study, in the 23% of women who reported using low-dose aspirin regularly, researchers saw a 20% reduction in the risk of developing HR-positive/HER2 negative breast cancer, some of the most common forms of the disease, reported a foreign news channel. The risk was inversely associated with taking a low-dose aspirin three or more times a week, compared with those women who had no regular low-dose aspirin use. Women who took other nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory medications such as ibuprofen did not see as much of a difference, nor did those taking a regular high-dose aspirin. Previous studies have shown mixed results in breast cancer impact among women who took a regular high-dose aspirin. Aspirin is already known for its potential to reduce other kinds of cancers and cancer deaths, particularly, in people at risk of colorectal cancer. The US Preventive Services Task Force guidelines recommend that certain people take low-dose aspirin regularly to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease and colorectal cancer. But not everyone can take it; for example, it’s not recommended for people with bleeding diseases such as Crohn’s or ulcers, as it can increase bleeding. The research has shown that aspirin works as an aromatase inhibitor.

Breast cancer is often treated with medication that is a stronger form of aromatase inhibitor; it stops the production of oestrogen, which can stimulate the growth of hormonereceptor-positive breast cancer cells. APP

PPDWP approves development schemes for improvement of roads LAHORE: The Punjab Provincial Development Working Party (PPDWP) approved development schemes for roads with an estimated cost of Rs. 9540.880 million.

These schemes were approved in the meeting of Provincial Development Working Party (PDWP) of current fiscal year 2016-17, presided over by the Punjab Chairman P&D Muhammad Jahanzeb Khan. Provincial Secretary P&D Iftikhar Ali Sahoo, all members of the Planning and Development Board, provincial secretaries concerned and other senior representatives of the relevant provincial departments also attended the meeting.

The approved development schemes included: Construction of Dual Carriageway from Gujrat to Salam Interchange (Motorway) through Mandi Bahauddin (section km 27.90 to 122.20=94.30 kms), M.B. Din. (Revised) at the cost of Rs. 5470.910 million, Improvement of Lahore Sargodha Mianwali Bannu Road Art: 2 (Phase-II) from Kot Chandna to Dara Tang km No. 355.47 to 408.92 length = 53.45 km, District Mianwali (Revised) at the cost of Rs. 2109.394 million, Dualizatoin of T.H.A.T Road from Jahanian Chowk to Hattian via Motorway Interchange length = 17.60 km, Attock (Revised) at the cost of Rs. 979.835 million and Construction of Dual Carriageway from Faisalabad Dry Port to Sahinwala via Chak Jhumra, length=19.27 km, District Faisalabad at the cost of Rs. 980.741 million. STAFF REPORT

Wednesday, 3 May, 2017

it must For eConomiC DeveLoPment: mAmnoon LAHORE

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HILE speaking as a chief guest at the 8th Annual Convocation of Virtual University Pakistan (VNP) Lahore, President of Pakistan Mamnoon Hussain said on Tuesday that skill development in IT in the country is part and parcel of the China Pakistan Economic Corridor(CPEC).

He said that the young generation of Pakistan took keen interest in the development of the IT sector in the country; this will become a catalyst in Pakistan’s journey towards prosperity.

The president said that the nationalisation policies of the past had ruined the

DCs of chickenpox affected districts to meet daily Deputy CoMMissioners woulD senD situation report to the health Minister, Daily LAHORE

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STAFF REPORT

HILE presiding over a meeting to review the situation of chickenpox disease in Faisalabad, Jhang, Sahiwal, Sargodha, Okara, Nankana Sahib, Chiniot, Toba Tek Singh, Bhakkar and Lahore, here today, Punjab Minister for Primary and Secondary Health Khawaja Imran Nazir directed all the Deputy Commissioners of chickenpox affected districts to hold meetings on a daily basis to review the situation regarding the surveillance and treatment facilities for the patients until the spread of virus is completely halted.

The attendees of the meeting discussed the intensity of the virus in the said districts. Special Secretary Specialized Healthcare Dr Sajid Mehmood Chohan, Special Secretary Primary and Secondary Health Dr Faisal Zahoor, Dean Children Hospital Lahore Professor Masood Sadiq, Medical Director Professor Ahsan Waheed Rathore, exVC KEMU Professor Faisal Masood, Representatives of WHO and UNICEF

Dr Mazhar Qureshi and Dr Rana Mushtaq, Health Consultant Dr Naeem-udDin Mian, Additional Secretary Primary Health Dr Asim Altaf, Additional Specialized Healthcare Dr Salman Shahid, Director EPI Dr Munir, Director CDC Dr Bashir, CEO Health Lahore Dr Saeed Ghoman and Deputy Commissioners and CEOs of the affected districts were also present at the video-linked meeting.

The minister was informed that a mass awareness campaign had been launched in the affected districts and special health education sessions are being held in the schools. Moreover, advertisements have also been given to print and electronic media for creating awareness among the people regarding chickenpox.

Principal Punjab Medical College Allied Hospital Faisalabad was of the view that the patients consult a doctor in the later stages of the disease that causes further complications like pneumonia, Acute Respiratory Disorder (ARD), Meningitis etc. At this stage, he added, treatment of the patient becomes a challenge for the doctors.

The medical experts said although chicken pox was not a fatal disease, if adults catch the disease it could put them at a considerable risk as these individuals suffer from diseases other than chicken pox as well.

Khawaja Imran Nazir directed the CEOs Health to focus on the awareness campaigns in the affected areas and improve the disease surveillance and referral system for the patients.

Professor Faisal Masood said that patients with symptoms of chicken pox, such as, high grade fever, rashes on the body, vomiting and stiffness in the neck should immediately be referred to a government hospital for proper treatment.

It was decided in the meeting that an SMS pertaining WHO guidelines regarding chickenpox will be disseminated among the general practitioners so that these doctors could be able to provide better medical cover to the patients and if necessary, they could refer the patients to the hospital.

The Health Minister also constituted a technical committee comprising of professors and specialists of tertiary care hospitals for probing the matter and submitting report within 48 hours.

Khawaja Imran Nazir said that treatment protocol for chickenpox patients should strictly be followed in the hospitals.

Deadlock prevails on minorities’ seats in nankana’s local bodies election NANKANA SAHIB: Local body council elections in Punjab’s Nankana Sahib district were postponed during the polling due to a stay order from the Lahore High Court on account of an incomplete council on December 22, 2016. It has been more than four months but the local body is yet to be constituted. The reason for the postponement of council elections was that the three minority seats had to be filled to complete the council. Elections were held on these three minority seats on Tuesday, in which Bashir Masih Bhatti (independent) secured 16 votes and Dr A D Khan (PTI) secured 14 votes.

There was a tie on the third seat between independent candidates, David Masih and Bashir Masih, as both of them received 9 votes. The winner of the third seat would be decided by a toss of coin. It was disappointing for the ruling PML (N) which failed to file a candidate in this election. S TA F F R E PO RT

LAHORE 07

economy, but now the government has ensured that the economy steps towards the right direction.

President Mamnoon Hussain lauded the services rendered by VNP for the country, where a large number of students cannot afford higher education.

The President added that the country confronted new challenges in the education sector and that more resources were required to fulfill the ever growing needs of the students.

“It’s a matter of honour that this institution has been doing projects with UN for education”, the president said.

“I hope that this university would also sign memorandums of understanding with other international universities so that students could be equipped with

modern skills in various fields, especially that of IT” he said.

IT has changed the whole world and this department would become more important when CPEC projects would further materialize further. However, he said that the demand for IT graduates would soar in the coming days and VNP will have to evolve into an even greater institution to cater to the needs of the time. He advised other institutions to also share the burden with VNP of creating IT experts.

He criticised the previous governments for keeping a blind eye to the deteriorating standards of education in the country and for failing to enhance the literacy rate in Pakistan. President Mamnoon Hussain said that the only key to solving the social and economical conundrums of the youth is education. The president, who is also the chancellor of the university, awarded gold medals and shields to students who prominent positions for various categories.

Earlier, Rector of the Virtual Varsity Naveed A Malik highlighted the achievements of the institution and said that 6245 students including 2166 from Lahore campus were awarded degrees in different disciplines.

Former IGPs critical of proposed inspectorate for Punjab police the sCheMe will further tighten partisan politiCal strangleholD on poliCe LAHORE STAFF REPORT

The Association of Retired IGPs said that the Punjab government is finalizing a proposal for fitting a new framework to the existing design of the Criminal Justice System called the Inspectorate. Projected to be a component of the Home Department, the Inspectorate will be authorized to carry out inspections of police, forensics, public prosecutors, prisons, and directorate of probation and reclamation. The government has failed to practically implement, Police Order 2002, for de-politicizing the police and is now thinking of amending those segments of the law that are crucial in order to

de-politicise the police. We in the Association of Retired IGPs are wary of the proposals made by the government, and regret that valuable resources are being wasted in such regressive schemes, the retired IGP’s added. The institutions in question already have substantial inspection capacities, they added, and their efficiency depends only on the system in which they are embedded. Unless the government improves its governance and stops intervening in the police matters for its political gains, police performance will not improve.

The IGPs further said that in its present form, the scheme raises justified concerns; apart from diluting the existing inspection capacities of the relevant organizations, the Inspectorate will further tighten the political grip on the police, aggravate the abuse of criminal justice process at the hands of the concerned politicians, thus, strengthening the existing nexus between politics and crime.

08 FOREIGN NEWS

Wednesday, 3 May, 2017

TRuMP says he coulD MeeT wiTh NoRTh KoRea's leaDeR WASHINGTON

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AGENCIES

RESIDEnT Donald Trump opened the door to a future meeting with north Korea's Kim Jong Un, offering unusual praise for the globally ostracised leader at a time of surging nuclear tensions.

Although the White House played down near-term prospects for such a meeting, Trump's conciliatory comments Monday marked a departure from his more unforgiving tone toward the north in recent weeks.

It marked the latest fluctuation as Trump's administration struggles to articulate its policy for addressing the growing threat from north Korea's nuclear program.

“If it would be appropriate for me to meet with him, I would absolutely, I would be honoured to do it,” Trump told Bloomberg news.

Clearly aware of the power of his declaration, he added: “We have break-

DPRK urges Japan to seek peaceful solution to Korean Peninsula crisis PYONGYANG AGENCIES

The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) on Tuesday urged Japan to seek a peaceful solution to the crisis on the Korean Peninsula. Pyongyang also accused Japan of trying to use the ongoing crisis to modify its constitution and legalize dispatch of its troops overseas while instilling life into its recession-stricken economy. The official Rodong Sinmun newspaper said in an article that the Japanese government has spread the story about the crisis on the Korean Peninsula after the United States staged a preemptive attack on Syria, "as if it had being waiting for it to happen."

"The aim sought by Japan in spreading the story is to step up the constitutional modification which it has so far attempted with the possible crisis on the peninsula as a pretext, and to put spurs to the 'Self-Defense Forces' overseas dispatch," said the article. "Another aim is to stimulate its reeling economy with the orders of new war supplies from the US after a war breaks out on the Korean Peninsula and thus gain a windfall just as it did during the past Korean War," it said. The article said since Japan could be the first to be affected by nuclear clouds if an atomic war broke out on the Korean Peninsula, "it has to make due efforts for the peaceful settlement of the Korean Peninsula issue." "As the first country in the world that suffered Abomb disaster, Japan knows better than others how terrible the nuclear disaster is," said the newspaper.

ing news.” As a presidential candidate, Trump suggested he was open to meeting Kim, but hadn't repeated the line since taking office.

Fresh missile tests by the north and its progress toward developing a nuclear weapon capable of hitting the United States have made the isolated communist dictatorship one of America's top national security concerns.

Deeming President Barack Obama's “strategic patience” with north Korea a total failure, Trump and his aides say they're taking a more aggressive approach, at times warning of potential military confrontation if the north doesn't change course. The US has even raised the possibility of a pre-emptive strike if Pyongyang conducts another nuclear test.

Yet on other occasions, Trump's administration has dangled carrots. It has spoken of restarting negotiations with the north and even suggested resuming food aid to north Korea once it starts dismantling its nuclear and missile programs.

On one point, at least, Trump and his team have been consistently clear: A so-

lution requires involvement by China, the north's biggest economic partner.

Trump is hoping China can pressure the north into a peaceful denuclearization.

The administration of President Barack Obama unsuccessfully sought the same objective for years.

Trump's suggestion of admiration for Kim, however, is something entirely new.

He noted that Kim assumed office in his 20s and has held power despite efforts by “a lot of people” to take it away.

“So obviously, he's a pretty smart cookie,” Trump told CBS' “Face the nation” in an interview that aired Sunday.

Tasked with explaining Trump's flattery, White House spokesman Sean Spicer said there would be no meeting with the secretive north Korean leader until circumstances were right and numerous conditions met. He said Kim should have to alter his government's behaviour and “show signs of good faith.”

“Clearly, conditions are not there right now,” Spicer said.

But echoing Trump's gentler tone, Spicer said Kim had “managed to lead a

country forward” from a young age.

Spicer didn't mention that under Kim, north Korea's government remains strictly authoritarian and dissent isn't tolerated. Much of the country is impoverished and malnourished.

Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., who has urged a tough approach to north Korea, warned that Trump would be legitimising Kim by granting a meeting to the leader of a brutal regime.

“The only time he should meet with him is to get the details of how north Korea will abandon their nuclear weapons program,” McCain told reporters.

Trump's musings about a potential meeting with Kim were reminiscent of Obama's declaration during his 2008 campaign that he'd be willing to meet without pre-condition with the leaders of north Korea, Iran, Cuba and other nations long at odds with the US Republicans and Obama's Democratic opponent, Hillary Clinton, criticised Obama for that statement. As president, Obama ultimately spoke by phone with Iran's leader

Daesh facilitator sentenced to jail for eight years LONDON

and travelled to Cuba amid a historic detente with the island nation.

The US maintains no diplomatic relations with north Korea and the two countries are technically at war, as the 1950-1953 Korean conflict ended without a peace treaty. The north makes no secret of its intention to develop a nuclear weapons system capable of striking the US mainland. In recent weeks, north Korea has conducted major military drills, test-fired missiles in violation of U.n. resolutions and taken preparatory steps toward a fifth nuclear test, steps that have fuelled growing US concerns and prompted Trump to send an aircraft carrier to the area.

The president's latest comments on north Korea came as his CIA director, Mike Pompeo, was in South Korea, where tens of millions of people live within artillery range of the northern border. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson last week chaired a U.n. Security Council meeting and urged countries to ramp up sanctions and suspend diplomatic ties with the north to increase pressure.

Five Muslims among six banned in Denmark for ‘hate-preaching’ STOCKHOLM AGENCIES

AGENCIES

The Central Criminal Court of England and Wales, commonly known as Old Bailey, sentenced a Daesh facilitator, identified as 34-year-old Samata Ullah, to eight years imprisonment on Tuesday.

Samata Ullah, who hails from Cardiff, was convicted on various offences of terrorism including facilitating Daesh, terrorist training, instigation of terrorism, and possession of material on missile guidance.

According to Metropolitan police, the convict was sentenced to “four years' imprisonment for membership of a proscribed organisation; eight years, with a five year extension period, imprisonment a charge of terrorist training and a separate charge of preparation for terrorism; six years' imprisonment for possession of an article - namely a USB cufflink - for a purpose connected with the commission, preparation or instigation of terrorism.”

Alongside, he was convicted for “six years' imprisonment for possession of articles - namely a book about guided missiles and a PDF version of a book about advanced missile guidance and control - for a purpose connected with the commission, preparation or instigation of terrorism.” All the sentences will run concurrently.

Samata Ullah was arrested from

his house on September 22, last year, during an operation of intelligence agencies and Met Police Counter Terrorism Command. Around 200 pieces of evidence, including 150 digital devices were seized from his house; devices contained eight terabytes of data.

The operation was conducted after security agencies had received information from the Kenyan AntiTerrorism Intelligence Police; who had arrested another suspect on April 29, last year, who was in regular contact with Samata Ullah.

More than 100 detectives worked on tracking down Samata Ullah’s activities and it was established that suspect who assist others with similar

mindset and taught them how to hide their actions and communications.

Speaking about the convict, Commander Dean Haydon, MPS Counter Terrorism Command, said: "Just because Ullah's activity was in the virtual world we never underestimated how dangerous his activity was. He sat in his bedroom in Wales and created online content with the sole intention of aiding people who wanted to actively support ISIS and avoid getting caught by the authorities.”

Moreover, Detective Superintendent Lee Porter - Head of WECTU, explained that Samata Ullah’s activities came as a surprise for people close to him.

Denmark published on Tuesday a blacklist of six foreign preachers accused of spreading hatred, including five Muslims and an American Evangelical pastor, banning them for at least two years. The list includes two Saudis, a Canadian, a Syrian, and two Americans, including pastor Terry Jones who desecrated copies of the Holy Quran in 2011. The blacklist “sends a clear signal that travelling fanatical religious preachers who try to undermine our democracy and fundamental values of freedom and human rights are not welcome in Denmark,” the immigration and integration ministry said in a statement. The centre-right government has undertaken a systematic hunt for religious fanatics, announcing plans in May 2016 to establish a blacklist after a hidden-camera documentary exposed radical preachers in Danish mosques. Parliament broadly approved the plan. In 2015, a young Dane of Palestinian origin who was radicalised in prison killed two people in twin attacks in Copenhagen, first gunning down a Danish filmmaker at a debate on Islam and free speech, then killing a Jewish security guard outside a synagogue. The same year, a Moroccan man was stripped of his Danish citizenship, acquired in 1988, for having spread books written by a cleric with close ties to al Qaeda. The Scandinavian country was also the target of Muslim anger worldwide after Danish daily Jyllands-Posten published caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) in 2005.

Brexit threatens future of Britain's nuclear industry: MPs LONDON AGENCIES

MPs from the House of Commons warned Tuesday that the government has left Britain's nuclear industry at risk in the case of leaving the European Union (EU).

The all-party Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy committee said the government must act urgently to ensure the industry's continued operation after Brexit.

The MP who chairs the committee, Iain Wright, said Prime Minister Theresa May has made it politically unfeasible for Britain to remain long term in Euratom,

Europe's atomic energy community, set up by the EU in 1957.

A report from the committee recommends maintaining access to the Internal Energy Market and retaining membership of the Emissions Trading System until 2020 at least.

MPs say that in the longer term they are concerned that Britain will become a "rule taker", complying with, but unable to influence European rules and standards. The report cautions that Brexit must not distract the government from delivering essential climate change policies.

The committee has warned that any

interval between Britain leaving the Euratom and entering into secure alternative arrangements would severely inhibit nuclear trade and research and threaten power supplies.

The report says: "The government argues that the UK must leave Euratom as a result of the triggering of Article 50, but the report states that legal opinion is divided."

The committee says withdrawal from Euratom is an unfortunate, and perhaps unforeseen, consequence of Prime Minister May's objective of ending the jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice in Britain.

"Ministers must end the uncertainty and resolve the matter by securing alternative arrangements as urgently as possible," the report adds.

MPs on the committee said there are strong concerns in the sector that new arrangements will take longer than two years to set up and recommends delaying departure from Euratom to give the industry more time to establish alternative arrangements.

If this is not possible, the government should seek transitional arrangements, which may need to be longer than the three years proposed by the European parliament.

The report also highlights concerns that if British standards diverge too far from those in the EU, Britain could become a dumping ground for energy inefficient products.

Labour Party MP Wright, who chairs the committee, said: "The impact of Brexit on Euratom has not been thought through. The government has failed to consider the potentially disastrous ramifications of its Brexit objectives for the nuclear industry. Ministers must act as urgently as possible. The repercussions of failing to do so are huge. The continued operations of the UK nuclear industry are at risk."

FOREIGN NEWS 09

Wednesday, 3 May, 2017

erdogan rejoins Turkey's ruling aKP party after 3-year absence ANKARA: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan officially rejoined the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) on Tuesday after absence of about three years after referendum win to give him more powers. "Today, I return to the party I founded," Erdogan said after rejoining the AKP at a ceremony held for official registration of the president at the party headquarters in capital Ankara with participation of hundreds of party officials.

Erdogan is the first Turkish politician as the president that has formally retains links with a political party. The president is expected to chair the ruling party as well.

"I will nominate Erdogan as the candidate chairman of the party at the May 21 extraordinary congress," Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said at the ceremony. On April 16, a narrowly won a referendum for constitutional changes granted executive powers to Erdogan with just over 51 percent of the vote. AGENCIES

islaMic sTaTe aTTacK Kills 32 aT syRia ReFugee caMP NeaR iRaq boRDeR HASAKEH

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AGENCIES

t least 32 people were killed on Tuesday in an Islamic State group attack near a refugee camp on the Syrian side of the border with Iraq, a monitor said.

The attack came as the KurdishArab alliance known as the Syrian Democratic Forces presses an offensive against IS in the town of Tabqa as part of an assault on the bastion Raqa.

The dawn IS attack hit a makeshift camp where some 300 families were waiting to cross into SDF-held territory in Hasakeh province, in northeastern Syria.

“At least five suicide attackers blew themselves up outside and inside a camp for Iraqi refugees and displaced

Syrians in Hasakeh province,” said Rami Abdel Rahman, the head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group.

Heavy clashes then erupted between the IS fighters and the SDF, some of whose combatants were among the dead, Abdel Rahman told AFP. The makeshift camp lies in the Rajm al-Salibeh area just inside Syrian territory, and at least 21 of the dead were displaced Syrians or Iraqi refugees, the Observatory said.

“At least 30 people were wounded, and the death toll may rise because some people are in critical condition and others are still unaccounted for,” the Britain-based monitor said.

Kamal Derbas, a press officer for the Kurdish Red Crescent, put the civilian death toll at 22.

He told AFP the attack began at

4:00 am local time (0100 GMT) and that 35 people were wounded. “The dead will be buried in Al-Hol,” he said, referring to the nearest town.

Civilians fleeing IS in both Syria and Iraq have made their way to the desolate border region seeking protection and onward passage to safety in Kurdish-controlled territory.

But conditions in the area are harsh, with little shelter and authorities often overstretched.

IS once controlled large parts of Hasakeh province, but it has been pushed out of almost all of it, with Kurdish authorities now in control of most of the area. Syria's government maintains a small presence in the province, mostly in its capital Hasakeh city.

But IS remains a potent power in neighbouring Deir Ezzor province, from which many Syrians arriving at

the border post are fleeing.

Backed by a US-led air coalition, the SDF has waged a months-long campaign against the militants across northern Syria and is now closing in on their bastion of Raqa.

In recent days, it has captured most of the key town of Tabqa, which occupies a strategic position on a supply route about 55 kilometres west of Raqa city.

More than 320,000 people have been killed in Syria since the conflict began in March 2011 with anti-government protests.

The war has drawn in foreign armies and fighters, including militants fighting alongside IS. The group is also on the defensive in neighbouring Iraq, where the army and allied fighters are pushing to recapture the city of Mosul from IS.

FBI agent married Daesh fighter she was assigned to investigate NEW YORK AGENCIES

A Federal Bureau of Investigation employee, who was assigned to investigate a German member of the Daesh terror group, fled to Syria to marry him, according to a report.

Daniela Greene, who worked as a translator for the FBI, managed to hide her real whereabouts from the bureau and warned her rapper-turnedterrorist husband Denis Cuspert about the investigation, Cnn reported on Tuesday.

Cuspert, also known as Deso Dogg, has been featured in many propaganda videos. Praising former al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden in a song, threatening former President Barack Obama with a throat-cutting gesture, and holding a freshly severed human head are some of the things he has done before Daesh’s camera.

The FBI put Cuspert on the radar after it found out about his growing influence as an online recruiter, going by the name of Abu Talha al-Almani.

According to the report, Greene “seemed to realise she had made a terrible mistake” weeks after marrying Cuspert.

She returned to the US soon after.

Greene, 38, was arrested upon arrival and charged with making false statements involv-

ing international terrorism. She pleaded guilty and received only two years in prison before being released last summer.

Prosecutors had described Greene’s actions as “egregious,” deserving of “severe punishment.”

The FBI admitted to Cnn in a statement that it had to take “several steps in a variety of areas to identify and reduce security vulnerabilities” as a result of the case.

Former State Department spokesman John Kirby said Greene’s conduct amounted to “a stunning embarrassment” for the bureau.

Assistant US Attorney Thomas Gillice said Greene had “violated the public trust” and “endangered our nation's security.” However, he said the rogue agent had been handed a lighter sentence because of her cooperation.

Greene travelled to Turkey in June 2014 and entered Syria through Gaziantep, a city located near the Syrian border.

The Pentagon announced in October 2015 that Cuspert was killed in an airstrike near Raqqah.

However, another statement in August 2016 said the initial assessment was incorrect and that Cuspert had “survived the airstrike.”

AMMAN: Soldiers participate in the "death run" match on the second day of the Ninth Annual Warrior Competition at the King Abdullah II Special Operations Training Center in Amman. The event kicked off on Sunday with the participation of elite military, special forces, counter terrorism and law enforcement officers with 32 teams from 17 countries. Xinhua

Greece reaches deal with creditors on fresh bailout ATHENS AGENCIES

Greece and its international lenders have reached a preliminary deal on disbursement of a new bailout loan to the indebted country, Greek Finance Minister Euclid Tsakalotos announced Tuesday.

"The negotiation is completed, there's white smoke," he told Greek national news agency AMnA, referring to the signal Vati-

can would use after the election of a new pope. The agreement includes a new round of austerity measures and tax reforms by the Greek government, which include further reductions on pensions and indirect tax hikes.

In return, the European Union will provide a fresh bailout loan to the country which has a huge debt to pay in July.

Greece's creditors, including the European Commission and the International Monetary Fund, also confirmed the conclusion of

a preliminary agreement.

All sides made compromises, therefore "we are pleased with some things, and we are less pleased with others," Tsakalotos said Tuesday.

The Greek Parliament will vote on the agreement, most likely on May 13, the Greek Finance Ministry said.

Eurozone finance ministers also need to approve the agreement at their next meeting likely on May 22.

US aims to eliminate IS from Afghanistan this year WASHINGTON AGENCIES

After dropping a monster bomb on its fighters, then targeting its leader, the US military is looking to destroy the militant Islamic State (IS) group's Afghan branch before battle-hardened reinforcements arrive from Syria and Iraq.

While US and Kabul government forces have mainly been combatting Taliban fighters since 2001, IS's local offshoot — also known as Islamic State-Khorasan, or ISIS-K — has a stronghold in eastern Afghanistan.

First emerging in 2015, ISIS-K overran large parts of nangarhar and Kunar provinces, near the Pakistan border, but their part in the Afghan conflict had been largely overshadowed by the operations against the Taliban.

Many Americans first heard of ISIS-K last month when the US dropped the “Mother Of All Bombs” on its nangarhar bastion — an aerial munition that the Pentagon said was the biggest non-nuclear weapon it had ever used in combat.

US and Afghan forces then raided a compound last week close to the site of the bombing, with the Pentagon saying it believed it had killed ISIS-K's leader Abdul Hasib during the operation.

Captain Bill Salvin, spokesman for US Forces-Afghanistan, said the local IS presence peaked at between 2,500 to 3,000 but that defections and recent battlefield losses had reduced their number to a maximum of 800.

“We have a very good chance of destroying them in 2017, making it very clear that when the ISIS fighters are destroyed elsewhere around the globe that this is not

the place for you to come to plot your attacks,” Salvin told AFP. US-backed fighters also appear to have IS on the ropes in Syria and Iraq, where an operation to wrest back control of the major northern city of Mosul has been ongoing since October.

But both the military and analysts acknowledge there is a danger of IS fighters heading to Afghanistan if they are forced out of Iraq and Syria.

Michael O'Hanlon, a senior fellow in foreign policy at the Brookings Institution, said that while IS should ultimately be defeated in Afghanistan, the Pentagon's timeline may be overly optimistic.

A definitive victory could take “a long time due, partly (due) to the proximity of Pakistan as well as the possible flow of fighters” from the Middle East as the “group loses sanctuaries there,” O'Hanlon

CMYK

told AFP. The Taliban, which first emerged in the mid-1990s in southern Afghanistan, managed to conquer most of the country before its 2001 ouster with the help of a range of foreign jihadists, including Pakistanis, Saudis and Chechens.

Analysts say that as well as Afghans, ISIS-K includes disaffected Pakistani and Uzbek militants among its ranks who used to fight for the Taliban.

It first emerged as a significant player in Afghanistan in early 2015 when its fighters overran the Taliban in parts of the east and has subsequently claimed responsibility for a string of bomb attacks.

ISIS-K's defeat would be an important victory for the US, which has struggled to boast of clear wins after forcing the Taliban out of Kabul in 2001 in the initial aftermath of the September 11, 2001 attacks.

Bill Roggio, a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and editor of the Long War Journal, said ISIS-K had “withstood multiple USbacked offensives over the past two years.” But while their defeat would be a boost to the US, Roggio said the Taliban and their long-time Al Qaeda allies were still a much bigger challenge.

“It's not that they don't pose a threat, but I would argue that the Taliban pose a far greater threat to the stability of Afghanistan,” Roggio told AFP. “It would be basically winning a battle, but we are still losing the war, which is basically the story of Afghanistan since we've been involved there.”

America has about 8,400 troops in Afghanistan. Most belong to a nato mission to train and advise Afghan partner forces fighting the Taliban.

10 COMMENT

Wednesday, 3 May, 2017

Ch Nisar’s diatribe against the agencies

Death penalty and the right to life Is there any questioning Kulbhushan’s sentence?

A bad workman always blames his tools

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he race for the next year’s elections is already on. Terrorists or no terrorists, none could have stopped the intrepid Chaudhry Nisar of the warrior race from proceeding to Wah where he was scheduled to announce a package of Rs1.5 billion to the 27,000 employees of Pakistan Ordnance Factories (POF). This must have been the interior minister’s first appearance in a lifetime at a May Day gathering. how could he ignore the function when eyeing the elections next year the opposition is already geared to give the ruling party a run for its money? If the PML-N chief is throwing tax payers money around to keep the opposition at bay why shouldn’t Ch Nisar follow suit?

The way Nisar reacted to the advice given by the security agencies was identical to the opposition parties’ stock response to similar cautions from the Interior Ministry. They invariably maintained that the warning of a terrorist attack was politically motivated and was aimed at spreading panic and thus stopping the opposition from conducting its public campaigns. Waxing rhetorical Ch Nisar said that if POF workers were not safe on the Labour Day, then he had no concern for his personal safety either. “The May Day ceremony at POF is a long-standing tradition and, God-willing, the other federal ministers and I will participate in the ceremony as planned.” If his outburst had ended with the bravado one would have explained it away as a pep talk.

But Ch Nisar went a step further. Addressing the security agencies he said if they could not secure sensitive installations like Pakistan Ordnance Factories (POF), then questions would be raised on their performance. For a moment Ch Nisar forgot that he is not an opposition leader but the interior minister of the country. The careless statement is likely to be used by interested quarters to argue that when the interior minister is himself sceptical about the performance of those assigned the task of securing sensitive installations Pakistan’s defence assets remain unsafe. Ch Nisar would have done well to consider the international implications of his ill- chosen words.

pean Union prohibits capital punishment. In 2007, 2008, 2010, 2012 and 2014 the United Nations General Assembly adopted nonbinding resolutions for the complete evacuation of this punishment.

The death penalty is mainly reserved for crimes of espionage, war, terrorism, murder, treason, defection or sexual offences.

There is a clear figure of Muslim majority developing states which consider this as an option in punishments; however, most of the executions (more than 2000) have taken place in a non-Muslim country, China.

Jurists oppose this penalty with arguments that it encourages the culture of violence and lacks the objective of deterrence. however, Kulbhushan’s punishment is met with arguments that it is

abid ali

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death sentence was awarded to the Indian spy Kulbhushan Jadhav who had been on trial by military courts where it had been established with all the requisite evidence in hand that he was the culprit behind many heinous state-sponsored activities in Pakistan. That had also put him on a list of RAW agents who had failed to achieve their extremist goals (Research and Analysis Wing or RAW is the primary foreign intelligence agency of India). even though many innocent people of Pakistan have been murdered because of him, many advocates of human rights question his death penalty as being against the right to life. So a question arises, is this penalty proportionate to the crime he did or, in other words, should Pakistan aim for retributive justice?

In general, punishment of certain crimes by death is known as capital punishment. There has been a major trend among states towards abolishing the death sentence. however, there are still 56 states which retain this punishment. Article 2 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the euro-

Robert Blecker, professor at New York Law School, says that the punishment must be painful and proportionate to the crime.

in favour of death penalty for the person who commits murder. Currently, Turkey and Philippines are making a move to re-establish the death penalty.

Crimes for which the Indian spy has been convicted are so serious that they demand strict penalty.

Moreover, the death sentence would have a deterring effect on potential state-sponsored Indian spy agents currently working in and out of Pakistan. Pakistan, as a sovereign state, has a responsibility to punish them to the degree they deserve. Failure of the extremist elements in India to accept and understand the reality of the existence of Pakistan since its independence is the tragedy of the region which reflects the mindset of the largest failed democracy of India.

So why shouldn’t we put Kulbhushan to death - a man who has been the mastermind behind many activities of insurgency especially in Balochistan and other areas of Pakistan? Why not? The society should be cleansed of mad cows.

Abid Ali holds an LLB (Hons) degree from the University of London and is currently running his own law firm in DHA, Lahore.

He has avid interest in tax law and intellectual property matters.

“How to make friends and influence people” As attention strays to other matters, can we talk about the Saudi-led Military Alliance?

Malignant trade Illicit organ trafficking demeans humanity

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eCeNT high-profile arrest of two government doctors and their accomplices from a private residence in Lahore allegedly for running an illegal kidney transplant racket highlights the irresistible lure that huge profits hold even for some in the healing profession. The ancient hippocratic Oath has become a modern hypocritical Vow. One of the arrested doctors is General Secretary of Young Doctors Association. The organisation’s choice of elected office bearers is obviously faulty, as a Vice President was also abetted by colleagues to escape from Anti-Corruption Department officials at Lahore’s Services hospital in February.

FIA has lodged a case under Punjab Transplantation of human Organs and Tissues Act (Amended) 2012 and 109 of Pakistan Penal Code, and a family whose son died during a transplant operation, carried out in primitive medical environment, has called for registration of a murder case. Freezing the doctors’ bank accounts and cancellation of their licenses will send the right message to others in callous organ commerce. No doubt many more such cases will surface, of chicanery both with donors and patients. human greed for vast profits has already made huge dents in the animal population, elephants for the ivory trade and rhinos and tigers for the alleged medicinal properties of their horns and internal organs. Though ‘guinea’ human beings are victims of the organ transplant trade, this sordid business is conducted on the good old market principle of supply and demand. A 2010 UN study found, ‘10,000 black market operations involving human organs a year’ of which 75 per cent were of kidneys, with a new kidney ‘sold every hour’. That still constitutes a fraction of the demand, fuelled by illnesses such as diabetes, high blood pressure and heart disease. The losers are the poor exploited organ ‘amputees’, the winners rich transplant patients, traffickers’ gangs, doctors and middlemen.

Doctors aware of such shady activities must expose shameless colleagues, obsolete laws need to be updated and strictly enforced, more organ transplant hospitals provided, and availability enhanced, from living donors legally, or from executed criminals, of which the latter is however entering controversial, forbidden territory.

Dedicated to the legacy of the late Hameed Nizami

Arif Nizami Editor

Aziz-ud-Din Ahmad Joint Editor Lahore – Ph: 042-36300938, 042-36375965

morally justified and proportionate to the crimes when applied in murder, multiple homicides, mass killing, terrorism and genocide.

Robert Blecker, professor at New York Law School is among those who defended this argument. he says that the punishment must be painful and proportionate to the crime. even the 18th c e n t u r y philosopher Immanuel Kant defended this punishment and said that every murderer deserves to die on the grounds that loss of life is incomparable to any jail term.

Support for the death penalty could also be seen in the polls held in South Africa where 76 per cent supported the reintroduction of the death penalty which had been abolished in South Africa. even the 2010 Gallup poll shows that 65 per cent of Americans are

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Faiza Farid

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he regional scenario of Pakistan is not just limited to its own lines of ‘South Asia’ (though it certainly is chalked down to such geographical boundaries) it is affected and shaped by the continuous policies and changes in the neighbouring areas-which subsequently affect Pakistan’s position and stance in international relations.

Whilst, the common approach narrated simply is of staying neutral during conflicts, Pakistan’s decision of appointing General Raheel Sharif as head of a Saudi-led Military Alliance, including 41 Islamic countries can clearly be compared with the divided fault lines we have been seeing in the Islamic world.

Since Pakistan has been predominantly trying to form a notion and a narrative of not engaging in any sort of interventionist or controversial stance, its appointment of General Raheel Sharif is a decision that is reiterating the mistakes and actions of the past. Siding with Saudi Arabia in a unified military action requires some serious or pretty basic questions to be answered or at the very least highlighted. Though the alliance aims to target the terrorist activities, by ISIL (Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant) and other radical activities in the region, but viewing most of its member

Karachi – Ph: 021-35381208-9 Fax: 021-35381208

states-the membership points to a major factof not having any Shia dominated state (Iran, Iraq, Syria) in the coalition. Since, the coalition was announced by Saudi Arabia, the initial criticism followed, targeted the approach of Saudi policies that concerns Iran. According to IRNA (Islamic Republic News Agency), Iran informed Pakistan about its concerns regarding the coalition, and Pakistan’s decision to join it.

It further stated that it already had informed Pakistan that neither would it become part of any such alliance nor was any offer of the sort extended to it. In the midst, of this Pakistan’s decision to appoint General Raheel Sharif is baffling and shows a clear failure of foreign policy-and not having a foreign minister.

Moreover, it also shows the approach that is taken by the present government. PML-N’s inclination towards Saudi Arabia and the Gulf States comes as no surprise. even in 2015, Pakistan-through much debate and consensus chose not to involve itself in the Yemen crisis. The coalition also includes a 5000 force of Pakistan army, which would be posted to guard the Saudi border with Yemen. The precarious nature of affairs that is much debilitating in the Middle east requires some practical approach, not siding with one state or faction. The Saudi led coalition is not a mere alliance of Islamic nations, but rather it brings its own faction of Islam, and also its own brand of politics. What we so often, tend to forget is the fact of forging alliances that neither help us in our domestic issues nor are relevant to the stances that we ought to take in the international politics.

Pakistan’s own version of its war against terrorism has stemmed from the policies that the state has devised in the past decades-which consequently, have not only reduced Pakistan’s reputation in the international community, but also have contributed in developing and instigating terrorism in the form of religious intolerance or sectarian violence. This step would also agitate the many elements that provide for the friction between the sectarian units of the state.

The issues and lacunas seen in Pakistan’s foreign policy do not point out to the initiation of such ventures. The issues within Pakistan already hold a significant tension that requires proper planning and minimum risks that involve a consensus before taking such controversial decisions.

However, the Saudi led alliance is also being dubbed as the Muslim NATO. But to what extend can the claim be made?

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Islamabad – Ph: 051-2204545

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Web: www.pakistantoday.com.pk

however, the Saudi led alliance is also being dubbed as the Muslim NATO. But to what extend can the claim be made? Furthermore, how can the threat be, verified for the alliance to act? NATO’s position in the present day world is subjected to funding. Saudi Arabia is pouring in money to set the coalition. And whilst, viewing the successes of the organisation, nothing much can be said for it, in act of appreciation. In a blurred context, the position of ISIL in Syria, the areas under its control and its eradication-the main purpose of the coalition-clearly includes, the factors of the civil war, the inclusion and the interventionist element of the foreign powers (US, Russia and Iran). Thus, to only form an alliance of this sort shows how deep, animosity runs within the politics of sectarianism.

Thus, in the past years, Pakistan and its foreign policy have embarked on some serious decisions, out of which, the present one is highly controversial. Due to the Saudi-Iran rivalry, and Pakistan’s own issues with terrorism and sectarianism, heading an alliance comes as a sign that concerns Iran and also the regional balance and the cord it would strike. The situation of Middle east is fractured, and the fault lines created, further segregate it from the world and also from inner peace. They have purported turmoil, and the alliance too would not help mitigate it. Since US has urged the Muslim nations to increase in the efforts to combat ISIL, the step derives a series of further violence and agitation which would add to the deteriorating regional balance.

In the midst of all this, Pakistan’s issues regarding its foreign and defence policy do not allow it to take such drastic steps, essentially when Afghanistan and India both have been engaging Pakistan at the eastern and Western fronts. Thus, the notion that is being presented to fight and combat terrorism, clearly shows how such ventures in the past have not only gone on to add to radicalism, we face today. But have also added to the sectarian divide and intolerance in the society. The decisions regarding foreign policy have serious implications in the domestic sphere, especially when a certain mindset is being promoted. Pakistan and its narrative of remaining aloof in the past few months, eventually has done nothing to hinder such steps. The failures in our foreign policy also highlight, how participation in an alliance that includes predominantly conservative Muslim states would help avoid the shards of sectarianism scattered in the Middle east and also how Pakistan and the coalition, both would remain neutral to counter the radical activities.

Faiza Farid is a freelance columnist.

I

Email: editorial@pakistantoday.com.pk

COMMENT 11

Wednesday, 3 May, 2017

Editor’s mail

Send your letters to: Letters to Editor, Pakistan Today, 4-Shaarey Fatima Jinnah, Lahore, Pakistan.

Fax: +92-42-32535230 E-mail: letters@pakistantoday.com.pk Letters should be addressed to Pakistan Today exclusively

Afterthought on the Mardan lynching

World Press Freedom Day Even freedom of speech has some caveats ahmed mujtaba

T

he world was ending. Millions of people were terrified, panicking - some of them fled into countryside - and started praying for their sins and sought mercy. They were doing the same things which one could expect from a person who was about to die in a pathetic way. It was halloween, October 30, 1938. This whole scene was created due to a drama broadcasted on Columbia Broadcasting System Network radio based on a science fiction book “War of the Worlds” directed and narrated by Orson Welles.

The story was about the invasion of the world by the creatures of Mars. The drama was broadcasted in a news style and people thought that actual extraterrestrial creatures had invaded the world. This is the power of media!

This twisted situation was created by the radio about a century ago. It tells us about the agenda setting role of media. The media actually sets the agenda which gradually becomes the agenda of the society. Now we are in 2017 and the media has grown from radio to social media - which has proven much more lethal than the radio.

I write this article because today we are celebrating the World Press Freedom Day. This day was proclaimed by United Nation General Assembly back in 1993. The rationale of the day is to weigh up the extent of media freedom round the globe and to extol the efforts of those who helped in the freedom of media. But in my view apart from celebrating the Press Freedom, now is the time that we should also contemplate the ways to streamline different types of media operating around us.

First of all let us discuss the print media.

Gone are the days in which newspapers

were owned by the veteran journalists who had bequest in journalism like Maulana Muhammad Ali Jauhar, Maulana Zafar Ali Khan, hameed Nizami and others. Now the media is owned by moguls who have made it an industry. Most of the newspapers are there for a mission: to uphold businesses or to gain a regular amount from government in lieu of advertisements.

Now newspapers are used as a source of deterrence rather than as a change agent.

In the same manner electronic media – the television particularly - in Pakistan is like a clone which just after its birth transformed into an adult without undergoing the intervening stages - i.e.: infancy, childhood and young adulthood. We have witnessed altogether different media coverage of the same events from different media channels. All these channels present their claims in such a way - by adding voice effect and camera tricks - that it is difficult to ascertain the truth. And they all appear right. The media coverage of the dharnas of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf is an example in this regard.

Similarly, there are examples in the history of television in Pakistan that certain anchors were exposed but the other channels hired the same person on almost double salary. Promoting sensational “news”, biased reporting and unethical practices to gain ratings is the norm of the day.

In order to pursue freedom of media, most of the time, these so called journalists bypass the ethics which Article 19 of the Constitution of Pakistan devised for the freedom of the press.

The media coverage of the Sikandar incident – that of a psychologically ill person who hijacks a main road in the capital, the coverage of Ajmal Kasab and his relevance issue and the coverage of other such issues has brought an ill renown for Pakistan and its capabilities internationally.

Likewise, in the name of entertainment,

these TV channels are showing the content of an alien culture. Most of the dramas which are telecasted on the TV channels are full of glamour.

This is creating frustration among the common people of Pakistan. In this way electronic media in Pakistan is a tool of cultural imperialism.

The power of the media especially that of the social media can be gauged by the fact that it was in fact the social media which made and finally killed Qandeel Baloch. It is social media which has shared a great responsibility in the brutal murder of Mashal Khan. It was social media which helped the Turkish Government to avert the coup and many such examples. Most of all the importance of social media is well understood

by Pakistan Army as it has appointed an officer of Maj General rank to manage the social media primarily – and that is apart from other media.

Social media ethics are seen nowhere.

The Cyber Crime Act is present and implemented in Pakistan and a few arrests are also made under the act. But it is still highly unbridled. Fake accounts, blackmailing, pornography, misuse of photos and misinformation is on the rise now a days. Many journalists have made websites and in order to raise their clicks they add obscene and unethical material. It is not beyond any risk to leave your child unattended on internet now. And that’s all thanks to these websites.

The discrepancies in the media need drastic reforms but taking a few steps are indispensible in order to steer media in the right direction.

The media claims to be the fourth and the most powerful pillar of the state. Thus, apart from self-acclamation, media should also follow a certain criteria for hiring media persons - as is followed by other pillars of the state. For example if you want to be in the judiciary you have to attain a degree in law first and then have a certain length of law practice on your credit and have to pass certain relevant examinations. Similarly in order to be in legislature, one needs to win elections and if one wants to be in the executive he/she has to attain certain level of experience. And if you want to be a civil servant you have to pass the tough competitive examination. On the contrary there is no set eligibility criterion to be a journalist. Degree, competence and experience are the terms which are considered alien for entry in the media field. Same goes for the media owners.

There is no eligibility criterion to be a newspaper owner. All you need it seems, is to have enough money. Thus a strict eligibility criteria should be made for being a journalist or media owner.

As far as the social media is concerned, efforts should be made to make one account for one user. At present SIMs are mostly registered on one’s name by the dint of biometric verification. Similar efforts should be made in the case of social media. By making this a law one should be responsible of one’s own account and content and a person should become easily traceable by this method. And in the end there should be a body comprising of veteran journalists, legislators, media owners, civil society and civil servants to check the performance of the media. This body if made in the real sense, would not be toothless like other bodies and authorities which are there in the field.

These steps are badly needed, in order to bring true professionalism in the media.

Ahmed Mujtaba is a freelance columnist.

TheRe is always a certain element of brutality and extreme agitation involved whenever it comes to the accusation of blasphemy in our country. When the individual, regardless of whether he/she is really the wrongdoer or is purported to be one, is brought forth, the conviction that such a voice should be silenced without having the opportunity to have his or her say clearly reflects the mindset of the people who bear no tolerance in such a case. The people’s instinctive agitation over the mention of blasphemy turns into extreme rage, to such a point their emotions are ignited that they bear no hesitation in taking law in their hands and setting out to punish the accused themselves, though he is only claimed to have committed this sin and is not yet proven. But what should be done to the accused in the eyes of the people is done blatantly and openly, and a message or perhaps a warning is delivered through lynching, burning, stoning etc. But when the case enters investigation and reality unfolds one layer after another it is too late for the realisation that what was done shouldn’t have been done. But who is bothered by the depths of feelings of those who have lost? And the people who thought they preserved the honour and stature of their religion by resorting to acts that only portrayed a negative image of their religion, what do they gain? Why does the fate of the accused in such cases always have to be decided by the people? Why not the law?

MAAz ISrAr Lahore

Labour Day speeches The fate of Nandipur Power and other such ventures was decided when corrupt civil servants with no experience or qualifications were appointed to head these projects. Should it not surprise us, that private power projects, sugar mills, cement industries etc owned by members of ruling elite are running profitably with competent qualified specialists heading them? It is this mindset where state owned enterprises are considered as spoils of war by the political and civil or uniformed bureaucracy of this country, which is primary factor for their operational failures.

Why could billions not have been generated from sale of thousands of acres of land belonging to Pakistan Railways which has been pilfered by powerful land mafia in nexus with those in power? how can the illegal takeover of thousands of acres of forest land and agriculture green belts on periphery of existing cities for development of housing colonies and other commercial ventures be justified in a country with ever increasing population and shortage of electricity, water etc to support existing housing schemes?

Billions have gone into bottomless pits like PSM, PIA etc which could have been invested in providing health, education, clean drinking water to millions of most deprived who are vulnerable for recruitment by extremist and fundamentalist organisations that this country has allowed to bloom within its borders. What else other than bankruptcy could have been fate of PSM or PIA etc when cronies are placed at helm in a country where there is no shortage of qualified and educated men of integrity?

MALIk T ALI Lahore

Third Party Contracts TheRe is a need to give a much required boost to our exports to strike a reasonable balance of trade. The Drug Regulatory Authority (DRAP) can help a lot simply by making the laws more rational and flexible for drug manufacturers.

Pakistani drug manufacturers are not allowed Third Party Contracts - a facility which gives India and Bangladesh a clear edge. It is high time that the current legislation which restricts contract manufacturing of medicines for export be revised.

The government should allow Contract Manufacturing to help local manufacturers reach efficient scales and become more competitive.

With Third Party Contract manufacturing, Pakistan can achieve more industrialisation since a large number of companies will then offer to produce drugs on behalf of the established brands. This will also open more employment opportunities. Third Party manufacturing would bring in foreign investment as the international drug manufacturers would prefer to outsource medicine production to Pakistani firms in order to offset their own high production costs. There is an urgent need for reforms in the existing regulatory framework to unlock the potential of ‘scale’ within the local pharmaceutical manufacturing sector to produce essential drugs locally and also to give our manufacturers access to global markets. kASHIF MUSTAFA QADrI karachi

Save our parks TheSe days the existence of parks is decreasing in our society.

There are not many parks available for families or for women to go to alone for a breath of fresh air or just to spend a day out with their kids. There used to be a park across my house Khushbu Park - in North Nazimabad, Karachi. No maintenance was provided to the park and so now the park is in ruins. Now, there is no greenery there, the laughter of children, the chatter, it’s all gone - it’s just barren land. In the day time it’s become a place for all the uneducated public of Paharganj to come and act rowdy in, creating an inconvenience for the residents of the area. While at night time the overgrown trees and bushes have become a home for the drug addicts to hide in.

ADEEnA BATUL SIDDIQUI karachi

12 WORLD VIEW

Wednesday, 3 May, 2017

Who is bEhind ThE sTaTE dEparTMEnT’s coup ploT in VEnEzuEla? TeLesUR

T

Misión VerDaD

HE coup plot against Venezuela has already been written and presented. On March 2, 2017, during the first round of OAS talks, Shannon K. O’Neil (Latin America director of the Council on Foreign Relations, CFR) presented the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee with a portfolio of actions and measures to be taken by the United States if it wanted to remove Chavismo from political power in Venezuela.

The Council on Foreign Relations, or CFR, is a think tank founded in 1921 with money from the Rockefeller Foundation. It is aimed at creating a group of experts to shape U.S. foreign policy and its leadership positions, including the president and the State Department, which does not act for its own reasons but rather according to the interests of these lobbyists.

Since it was created, the council, which is made up of 4,500 members, has placed a number of senior officials in positions to implement CFR strategy.

These include Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, Madeleine Albright and Colin Powell, responsible for the war in Vietnam, Yugoslavia and Iraq respectively, and in the case of Powell, a major player in the April 2002 coup.

Moreover, an honorary member and ex-vice president of the think tank was David Rockefeller, the former owner of Standard Oil Company who has great interests and influence in Venezuela. His penetration in the country’s national political life reached such a point that he was one of the sponsors of the Punto Fijo pact that gave rise to the Fourth Republic.

Corporations born from the dissolution of Standard Oil also finance the CFR, namely Chevron and Exxon Mobil. The former was involved in financing the sanc-

tions against Venezuela and the latter wants to create conflict between Guyana and Venezuela in order to take advantage of the large oil reserves in Essequibo.

Among CFR’s financiers is Citibank, which last year blocked the accounts of the Central Bank of Venezuela and the Bank of Venezuela, affecting the country’s ability to import essential goods. The financial corporation JP Morgan is responsible for using financial aggression as an excuse to declare Venezuela in default of payments in November 2016, using manipulative maneuvers to affect Venezuela’s financial credibility.

Both banks aimed to hurt Venezuela’s ability to attract investment and loans that would stabilize its economy. The most aggressive players of the financial and economic coup against Venezuela are part of CFR. These same players are now responsible for designing the agenda of the political coup — in the same way that Colin Powell, a CFR member, devised and armed the 2002 coup against Chavez when he was George W. Bush’s secretary of state. Now, just like then, the MUD (today called Democratic Coordinator) only responds to a political line designed by these large, factual powers — the real power that governs the United States.

For this reason, O’Neil is no more than a delegate of the royal leaders of this private organization. He is in charge of presenting to the Committee on Foreign Relations of the U.S. Senate the actions that must be taken to change the political course of Venezuela, using unconventional war tactics, as outlined by the interests of the great economic powers represented by CFR. The audience begins by reporting, without solid and reliable figures, that the Venezuelan population currently lives on par or worse conditions than the citizens of Bangladesh, Republic of

Congo and Mozambique, countries brought to extreme misery by private and irregular wars which sought to plunder their natural resources. Creating a (media-distorted) image of the humanitarian crisis in Venezuela is the starting point for the rest of the plan.

Painting a picture of a country on the verge of collapse is the alibi.

During the presentation, O’Neil said that the PDVSA is on the brink of default, omitting that the state oil company has continued to pay its external debt payments in honor of its international commitments. Before proposing these options to the U.S. government, the CFR delegate says that Venezuela is strategic for U.S. interests in the hemisphere, and that a hypothetical collapse in oil production would hurt the U.S. (because it would increase prices), while also affirming — without any proof — that the incursions of the Zetas and Sinaloa drug cartels in Venezuela poses a threat to the region.

Th CFR proposes three major political actions for the U.S. to execute a coup in Venezuela in the immediate future. Options that, because of the political and financial weight embodied in CFR, are already in full operation (and running for months). Indeed the CFR have directed the anti-Chavista leadership to strictly follow this coup manual.

1. CFR proposes to continue sanctions on “human rights violators, narco-traffickers and corrupt officials” to increase pressure on the Venezuelan government. AntiChavez leaders, following that script, have backed these actions and the false positive in question, since there is no evidence linking Venezuelan Vice President Tareck El Aissami to international drug trafficking. Even leaders like Freddy Guevara have gone to Washington directly to “demand” that the sanctions be extended, under the support of the antiVenezuelan lobby led by Marco Rubio.

2. The United States must take a tougher stance within the OAS to implement the Democratic Charter against Venezuela, co-opting countries in the Caribbean and Central America to support this initiative, which in recent OAS (illegal) sessions have resisted supporting. Marco Rubio’s threat against Haiti, the Dominican Republic, and El Salvador was not an isolated action, but a coordinated maneuver led by the State Department to increase pressure against Venezuela’s international alliances.

The CFR also proposes that the Treasury Department convinces China to withdraw its support for Venezuela to increase political and economic pressure on the country and the government. The MUD has been a stellar actor in this part of the script, using Luis Almagro to demand the Democratic Charter be applied against Venezuela. The latest statement from the U.S. State Department on the march convened by the MUD on April 19, aims not only to harden its stance toward Venezuela to increase pressure from the OAS (trying to bring together the largest number of allies with this critique), but legitimizes, with premeditation, violent and lamentable acts that could occur in the march. Clinging to false narratives such as the use of “collectives” to suppress demonstrations and “tortures” carried out by Venezuelan state security forces, the State Department proposes calling April 19 a turning point to escalate the siege against Venezuela and expand sanctions against the country, making them more aggressive and direct.

3. The CFR states that the United States should work together with Colombia, Brazil, Guyana and Caribbean countries to prepare for a possible “refugee increase,” channeling resources to various NGOs and U.N. organizations from the United States Department

The Korean peninsula is not the Middle East

Philippine President Duterte is a self-professed killer.

Why did Trump invite him to a cozy White House schmooze?

L A Times President Trump’s decision to invite Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte to the White House is problematic in at least two ways. Since taking office nearly a year ago, Duterte has overseen a campaign of extrajudicial executions of suspected drug addicts and drug dealers that has claimed more than 7,000 lives. International human rights groups have condemned him, and the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights urged a criminal investigation after Duterte claimed to have killed at least three people himself while serving as mayor of Davao City. Duterte’s response? He called the high commissioner an “idiot,” threatened to torch the United Nations headquarters in New York City and called President Obama a “son of a *****.” Obama condemned the assassinations and canceled a planned one-on-one meeting that was to have taken place in Laos.

The second problem with Trump’s invitation to Duterte has to do with the new 250-luxury unit, 57-story Trump Tower in Manila that is nearing completion and set to open soon.

Trump’s developer in the project is Jose E.B. Antonio, whom Duterte recently appointed as the Philippines’ trade envoy to

Washington. As with many of Trump’s hotels, it appears the Trump Organization licensed the name and brand to the project developed by Antonio, but that brand’s value in the Philippines now relies on the good graces of the Philippine government. That’s a problem.

Despite these two problems — the Philippine leader’s abysmal human record and the American president’s conflicts of interest — Trump has spoken warmly about Duterte, as he has about other world leaders with bad human rights records.

While some claim to see a measure of realpolitik in Trump’s invitation, suggesting that perhaps he’s trying to build solidarity among Southeast Asian nations to counter China’s efforts to increase its influence in the region, the truth is that his easy embrace of authoritarian leaders is troubling.

The United States’ effort to include a respect for human rights in its foreign policy determinations has always been a bit of a juggling act. The cold reality of the modern world and the demands of diplomacy can make it difficult to maintain a consistent moral position.

China, for instance, has a long record of repressing political dissent, but little is to be gained and much could be lost by pursuing a policy of disengage-

ment with such an enormous, nuclear-armed economic powerhouse. Similar concerns affect the U.S. relationship with Russia. Turkey hosts a major U.S. air base and is a key partner in trying to combat Islamic State, but President Recep Tayyip Erdogan embarked on a purge — including the imprisonment of thousands of journalists and political opponents — following a failed coup last year. Yet the U.S., for the sake of world stability and our national interests overseas, maintains relations with all those nations’ leaders.

The U.S. has enjoyed a long alliance with the Philippines. The two nations have been entwined since the U.S. annexed the Philippines at the end of the Spanish-American War, and Philippine immigrants now account for 4.5% of the 41.3 million immigrants living in the U.S. As a chain of islands marking the eastern edge of the China Sea, the Philippines is also strategically important in an increasingly tense region of the world. We do not mean to suggest that Trump should cut off communication with Duterte or that there might not eventually be a time when the two have to meet to discuss serious matters of mutual interest.

But Trump’s seemingly impulsive invitation appears to lack substance or urgency. He would

of Agriculture State. But beyond this warning of an intervention in Venezuela, there is a real political operation in place: the NGO funded by the same Department of State, Human Rights Watch (HRW), published on April 18, 2017, a report on how the “humanitarian crisis” has spread to Brazil.

Based on specific testimonies and by magnifying immigration data, HRW took the opportunity to call on the governments of the region (with special emphasis on Brazil) to put pressure on the Venezuelan government, as required by the strategy proposed by CFR. Luis Florido, leader of Popular Voluntad, is currently touring Brazil and Colombia to try to reactivate the diplomatic siege against Venezuela from border countries.

The U.S. think tank also requires that these countries under the leadership of the United States and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) organize a financial guardianship plan for Venezuela, that hides Russian and Chinese investments in strategic areas of the country. In recent days, Julio Borges has used his role in parliament and as a political spokesperson to continue the message that propagates the false narrative of the “humanitarian crisis” in Venezuela. It is the same strategy outlined by the CFR, arguing that the United States should increase its level of involvement in the internal affairs of Venezuela from the State Department, now headed

by Rex Tillerson, linked to oil company Exxon Mobil (he was its general manager since 2007 until he took over this public position), a CFR financier.

These ongoing actions, while unveiling the geopolitical urgency in the coup strategy against Venezuela (affiliated with the latest statements by U.S. Southern Command Chief Admiral Kurt Tidd on the need to displace China and Russia as allies of Latin America), also reflects how they have delegated the genera-

tion of violence, programmed chaos and diplomatic procedures (in the best of cases and exclusive use of Luis Florido) to their intermediaries in Venezuela, specifically, the leaders of the radical parties of anti-Chavism. These actions led by the United States (and corporations that manage its foreign policy) lead toward one final aim: intervention by financial and preventive military means.

The evidence presented by President Nicolas Maduro links leaders of Primero Justicia with financing vandalism against public institutions (the case of the TSJ in Chacao). What, beyond this specific case, reveals the very probable promotion of para-criminal, irregular and mercenary (allied and politically directed) factors to escalate and encourage violence in order to legitimize the position of the State Department.

The badly named MUD is a private embassy that works on the basis of the great economic interests of these factual powers, which are vital for its strategy to advance.

Whether these strategies can keep pace with this global moment will depend on what their supporters can do on the ground. Given the resources of financial and political warfare applied by these powers (financial blockade, international diplomatic siege, programmed attack on PDVSA payments, etc.) and State Department maneuvers, are on their account, generating all the conditions of pressure, siege and financing needed by its operators in Venezuela for the muchannounced breakpoint that does not finish arriving.

And that it is necessary that it arrives for those who financed and designed this agenda.

Despite the tactics of the financial and political war (financial blockade, international diplomatic siege, programmed attack on PDVSA payments, etc.) and the maneuvers of the State Department, made on its behalf, to generate all the conditions of pressure, siege and investment needed by their Venezuelan operatives, the highly anticipated breaking point in Venezuela has still not arrived.

But for those who financed and designed the agenda against Venezuela, it is important this point come as soon as possible.

PeoPLe’s DAiLy Du Xiaofei

be mistaken to reward Duterte’s murderous campaign with a White House visit.

Trump previously hosted Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Sisi, despite the jailing of tens of thousands of political opponents, journalists and others (including some Americans) that made Sisi unwelcome in the Obama White House. In that visit, the Trump administration said it would not raise human rights abuses in public, but would consider discussing them with Sisi in private. Whether that ever happened is unknown, but it certainly should have.

Duterte’s encouragement of a violent vigilante culture to repress drug addiction and trafficking is indefensible. That Trump is willing to embrace him is worrisome.

Defending human rights has been part of American foreign policy for four decades. Inviting the likes of Duterte over for a schmooze does not reflect well on the White House, or the nation.

China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi commented on the possibility of war on the Korean peninsula when meeting the press with his German counterpart, Sigmar Gabriel, in Berlin on April 26.

“We can’t risk even a 1 percent possibility of war. The Korean peninsula is not the Middle East. If a war breaks out, there would be unimaginable consequences,” he said. “All parties should follow relevant resolutions passed by the UN Security Council. China calls on all parties to avoid any actions that would escalate the situation.”

In a commentary published on April 28 in the People’s Daily Overseas Edition, it was pointed out that this is a crucial moment for all parties involved. The DPRK disrupted the nuclear non-proliferation regime and went against resolutions adopted by the UN Security Council. Meanwhile, the U.S. and South Korea pose a military threat to the DPRK, and seek further sanctions to and isolation for it.

This situation is fragile and dangerous. Should any individual incident occur, it could lead to disastrous consequences on the peninsula and its surrounding areas. Wars and conflicts in the Middle East have already become an open wound for humanity. Another war on the Korean peninsula would only bring a much worse scenario to Northeast Asia, the commentary continued.

However, despite the existence of tensions on the peninsula, a war is by no means imminent. Although U.S. President Donald Trump and his government did blast the DPRK for its nuclear program and ballistic missiles, and although the DPRK fought back with strong words and actions, there are still encouraging signs. In recent days, the DPRK hasn’t conducted any new nuclear tests. And on April 26, the U.S. secretary of state, secretary of defense and director of national intelligence made a joint statement, claiming that negotiation is still on the table.

According to the commentary, there is no silver bullet to solve the North Korean nuclear issue. Nevertheless, every country in the region wishes to safeguard its own national security and address this issue peacefully. Force will lead nowhere; dialogue and negotiations remain the only solution. It is imperative that all relevant parties consider China’s proposal: the suspension of nuclear tests by the DPRK and the termination of joint military exercises by the U.S. and South Korea.

More strong words and military confrontations will benefit neither the U.S. nor the DPRK. If both sides can send positive signals to each other, the issue might just have a chance at resolution.

LEISURE 13

Wednesday, 3 May, 2017

aries

taurus

gemini

You are dangerously close to reaching your boiling point today and may struggle to keep a lid on your volatile emotions.

Militant Mars is your ruling planet, tuning you into trouble before it even happens.

You may not be comfortable expressing your anger, but you can still be a formidable opponent if people push you too far. Although someone could challenge your motives, you're able to exhibit a great deal of patience today.

Nevertheless, the outcome of the current situation is still within your control. You could waste precious energy in a fight that won't likely matter in the long run or you can summon up enough courage to just walk away. The choice is yours.

cancer

leo

virgo

If you decide to speak your opinion today, avoid getting mired down in the details. Concentrating on the big picture makes sense as long as you don't let your philosophical approach supersede the facts staring at you in the face.

However, there's a good chance that your plans will backfire if you don't express yourself one way or another. Proceed carefully; blowing your cool could alienate the very same people you want to have on your team.

You're motivated to take on the world today with the superhero Sun-Mars conjunction activating your 10th House of Responsibility. But it's difficult now to follow one task through to the end before finding yourself distracted with another one.

libra

scorpio

sagittarius

You often excel at playing the diplomat, but peacekeeping isn't your primary motivating force today. You're not as quick to acquiesce to the demands of others while warrior Mars hooks up with the willful Sun in your 9th House of Adventure.

But the fact of the matter is your friends and family can be your greatest asset if you include them in your plans. Be on your best behavior while manifesting your future or you may waste a cosmic opportunity to get what you want.

The combative Sun-Mars conjunction falls in your 7th House of Others, flooding your system with so much adrenaline now that you might project your own anger onto anyone who crosses your path.

capricorn

aQuarius

pisces

You're typically quite proficient at taming the contentious energy of hotunder-the-collar Mars. However, you're tempted to ride roughshod over other people's needs today in order to stick to your regular routine.

You might be so excited about a project now that you ignore your friends as you pursue your ambitions. It's all too easy to forget about what anyone else thinks as the Sun-Mars conjunction fires up your 5th House of Self-Expression.

There could be so many things going on at home today that you don't know where to jump in.

The action-packed Sun-Mars conjunction falls in your 4h House of Domestic Conditions, emphasizing your personal life.l

crossword

ACROSS 1,14 educated people expressing views on the issues of the day (10,7) 7 unselfish concern for others (8) 8 grow weary (4) 9 island of hawaii (4) 10,21 1996 tom cruise spy film — extremely dangerous assignment (7,10) 12 realistic and sensible (4,2,5) 14 see 1 16 centre of a target (4) 19 locks (4) 20 indonesian capital (8) 21 see 10

word search

DOWN 1 stringed instrument (5) 2 display by the red arrows, for example (3,4) 3 branch of a branch? (4) 4 stayed (8) 5 buttocks (5) 6 ornament with a hinged pin and catch (6) 11 deal with (6,2) 12 texas city where jfk was assassinated (6) 13 indistinct stage chattering noise by actors (7) 15 skedaddle! (5) 17 hades' river (5) 18 red planet (4)

hagar the horriBle

dilBert

garField

Baldo

chess active arctic bladder bridge cancel chance clear cots cream crisp damper depend disputed factor fend field flick freeze gadget highlight

hurry jaded lumber need negative papa peace player poise rare rear sale secure spoon strong tender terse victor virus yield

black TO PlaY aND MaTE IN fOur MOVEs 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

A

B

C

D

E

F

G

H

Today’s soluTions

Bridge NothiNg like a dame

sUdokU crossword solution sudoku solution

1...Be7 2.rdh1 rh8 3.Qxg5 Bxg5+ 4.f4 Bxh4 * chess solution

how to play fill in all the squares in the grid so that each row, column and each of the squares contains all the digits. the object is to insert the numbers in the boxes to satisfy only one condition: each row, column and 3x3 box must contain the digits 1 through 9 exactly once.

14

Wednesday, 3 May, 2017

ARTS

Smoking weakenS a gene that protectS arterieS: Study WASHINGTON

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AGENCIES

eOPLe who smoke cigarettes may boost their risk of clogged heart arteries by weakening a gene that is otherwise protective of these important blood vessels, US researchers said Monday.

The findings point to a genetic explanation for how smoking can lead to the plaque buildup that stiffens arteries and causes heart disease, said the report in the journal Circulation.

“This has been one of the first big steps towards solving the complex puzzle of gene-environment interactions that lead to coronary heart disease,” said co-author Danish Saleheen, assistant professor of biostatistics and epidemiology at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania.

Researchers pooled genetic data on more than 140,000 people from more than two dozen earlier studies, with a particular focus on regions of the genome that have been previously

associated with a higher risk of plaque buildup in the heart’s arteries.

“A change in a single DNA ‘letter’ on chromosome 15, near the gene that expresses an enzyme (ADAMTS7) produced in blood vessels, was associated with a 12 percent reduction in heart risk in nonsmokers,” said the report.

“However, smokers with this same variation had only a five percent lower risk of coronary heart disease — reducing by over half the protective ef-

fect of this genetic variation.”

Follow-up lab studies showed that in cells that line arteries of the human heart, the production of the enzyme ADAMTS7 dropped significantly when the cells contained this singleletter DNA variant.

Another experiment showed when coronary artery lining cells were exposed to the liquid extract of cigarette smoke, the cells’ production of ADAMTS7 more than doubled.

If researchers can find other ways

‘Oldest human’ dies in Indonesia, aged 146 A man who claimed to be the world’s longest living human has died aged 146.

According to his papers, Indonesian national Sodimedjo, also known as Mbah Ghoto (Grandpa Ghoto), was born in December 1870. He would have been 43 at the start of the first world war and turned 70 during the second world war.

The heavy smoker, who outlived four wives, died this week in his village in Central Java after being taken to hospital on 12 April with deteriorating health.

He insisted on returning home to be with his family and died on Sunday.

Mbah Ghoto was not the recognised longest living human as Indonesia only started recording births in 1900. However, officials told a foreign news channel his residency card, which has his birthdate on it, was valid based on documents and interviews with him. His grandson Suyanto told a foreign news channel that when he came home, he started to eat less and less.

“It only lasted a couple of days. From that moment on to his death, he refused to eat and drink,” he added. “He didn’t ask much.

Before he died, he just wanted us, his family, to let him go.”

Mbah Ghoto was buried on Monday morning in a local cemetery plot he had bought, which included a gravestone he had procured years before he died.

A former farmer and fisherman, Mbah Ghoto said last year that he lived “a long life because I have people that love me looking after me”. He was a local hero and would recount stories of life under Japanese and Dutch colonisers.

“Life is only a matter of accepting your destiny wholeheartedly. I have wanted to die

for a long time,” he told the Jakarta Post last year.

He leaves behind five children, 12 grandchildren, 17 great-grandchildren and two great-great-grandchildren.

As Mbah Gotho’s age was not independently verified, he does not take the mantle of oldest living human in recorded history from Frenchwoman Jeanne Calment, who died in 1997 aged 122. The world’s oldest person alive today is Violet Brown, a 117-year-old Jamaican woman, according to the Gerontology Research Group. AGENCIES

missing surfer rescued after spending 30 hours in water LONDON AGENCIES

to inhibit this enzyme, they might be able to help smokers and others at heightened risk of coronary heart disease, said co-author Muredach Reilly, director of the Irving Institute for Clinical and Translational Research at Columbia University Medical Center.

Cigarette smoking is known to cause about one in five cases of coronary heart disease and is linked to approximately 1.6 million deaths worldwide each year.

“Through these large-scale genetic studies, we’re beginning to understand the genetic variations that drive risk in response to certain environmental exposures or lifestyle behaviours,” said Reilly.

“Not everyone reacts the same to the same exposures or behaviours. For example, some people who don’t exercise develop diabetes while others do not,” he added.

“So, instead of saying there are rules for everybody, we can specify which interventions will be especially beneficial for specific populations or individuals and focus our health resources more efficiently.”

A surfer who went missing off the coast of Scotland has been found 13 miles from land after spending more than 30 hours in the water, British coastguard said on Monday.

The man, named by the BBC as 22-year-old Matthew Bryce from Glasgow, was reported missing after he set off to go surfing on Sunday morning from a beach near Campbeltown off the Scottish west coast, sparking a large search operation. He was finally located on Monday evening, still with his surf board after being spotted by a rescue helicopter. “Hope was fading of finding the surfer safe and well after such a long period in the water and with nightfall approaching we were gravely concerned,” said Dawn Petrie from Belfast Coastguard Operations Centre in Northern Ireland which coordinated the search.

He was finally located on Monday evening, still with his surfboard after being spotted by a rescue helicopter. “Hope was fading of finding the surfer safe and well after such a long period in the water and with nightfall approaching we were gravely concerned,” said Dawn Petrie from Belfast Coastguard Operations Centre in Northern Ireland which coordinated the search.

He was finally located on Monday evening, still with his surfboard after being spotted by a rescue helicopter.

Rare albino orangutan rescued on Borneo Island A rare albino orangutan has been rescued on the Indonesian part of Borneo Island where villagers were keeping the whitehaired, blue-eyed creature in a cage, a protection group said Tuesday.

In an extremely unusual discovery, authorities picked up the female, estimated to be five years old, in a remote village in Kapuas Hulu district.

The Borneo Orangutan Survival Foundation (BOSF), which is caring for the critically endangered ape — believed to be albino –, said the organisation had never before in its 25year history taken in such an orangutan.

Normal Bornean orangutans have reddish-brown hair.

Villagers said they captured the ape — who has not yet been named — on Thursday. Authorities rescued the ape two days later.

“Orangutans are rare, and an albino orangutan is even rarer,” Nico Hermanu, a BOSF spokesman, told foreign media agencies. “Since BOSF was founded 25 years ago, we had never before taken in an albino orangutan at our rehabilitation centre.”

Pictures showed dried blood around the creature’s nose, with the foundation saying the injury could have been sustained when the ape was fighting the villagers’ attempts to capture it.

The orangutan has been taken to BOSF’s rehabilitation

centre for further assessment. Almost 500 orangutans are kept at the centre.

The Bornean orangutan, along with the Sumatran orangutan are Asia’s only great apes, are classified by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as “critically endangered” — just one step away from extinction.

Around 100,000 are estimated to live on Borneo, which is divided between Malaysia, Brunei and Indonesia, down from 288,500 in 1973 and with their numbers expected to shrink to 47,000 by 2025, according to the IUCN. The creatures have seen their habitat shrink dramatically as the island’s rainforests are increasingly turned into oil palm, rubber or paper plantations, and are sometimes targeted by villagers who view them as pests.

New lease of life for Ukraine’s war-torn mountain observatory AGeNcIeS Perched spectacularly 2,000 metres up on a snowcapped peak in Ukraine’s Carpathian Mountains, the Bilyi Slon observatory has stood empty and battered by the elements for some seven decades.

Abandoned only a year after it was built in what was then Poland due to the outbreak of World War II, it became a carcass of thick sandstone walls and missing windows that looked more like a ruined castle than a scientific outpost.

Now, with efforts under way to raise around $1 million (920,000 euros) in funding, scientists aim to restore the wreck and transform it into a learning centre for young researchers studying wildlife, plants and weather patterns.

“There was no roof, all the floors were warped,” local mountain rescuer Vasyl Fitsak, part of a small crew stationed there, told foreign media agencies as icy winds swirled outside.

“There were piles of bricks, stones and trash that hikers left here for years.

Some piles reached two metres (6.6 feet)

in height.”

Work on rebuilding the observatory — nicknamed Bilyi Slon (White elephant) by locals because of how it looks when covered in snow — started in 2012.

Scientists hope that significant progress on the restoration will be made by next year, when the observatory marks its 80th anniversary.

So far the copper roof has been restored and debris cleared from much of the building.

But tough conditions mean that progress has been slow and there remains a lot to be done.

Snowstorms and freezing temperatures mean that work can only go ahead six months of the year and no more than 10 construction workers can stay at any one time because of the cramped conditions.

The observatory, which sits on the Pip Ivan peak, the second highest in the Chornogora mountain range, is a six-hour hike from the nearest town. In summer the only road for transporting up building materials becomes an impassable bog.

The observatory’s location has not only proved inhospitable due to the dreadful weather. It has also been buffeted by the hurricane of history that has blown through this blood-soaked region in eastern europe.

Completed in 1938 on what was then the Polish-Czechoslovak border, the fivestorey observatory was equipped with a modern telescope and served as a base for

Polish military meteorologists.

After just one year, however, the scientists hurriedly packed up their equipment and fled as Soviet troops seized the area under a pact with Nazi Germany to divide Poland.

It then fell under Nazi control after Hitler’s invasion of the USSR and was used as a barracks until it was recaptured

by Moscow’s forces in 1944.

It remains unclear why the Soviet troops did not restore the facility, which ended up serving as a shelter for the few hardy hikers who made it up to the summit. Given its tumultuous history, the observatory never had the chance to fulfil its initial purpose as an astronomical observatory.

Those behind the project — which has received its first tranche of funding from Poland’s culture ministry — admit that conditions mean it is unlikely to be used for serious stargazing in the future.

Curator Igor Tsependa said that the spot only enjoys some 60 cloudless days a year, while world-class observatories usually get as many as 330 clear days annually.

Instead Tsependa, a university rector in the Ukrainian city of Ivano-Frankivsk, hopes it will become a hub for studying local flora and fauna, as well as conducting weather studies.

“From the educational point of view this object is pretty attractive,” he says, adding that he expects researchers from both Ukraine and Poland to use it.

Wednesday, 3 May, 2017

ARTS

CElEbriTiES EmbraCE avanT-GardE ChallEnGE aT 2017 mET Gala

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AGENCIES

N a night when celebrities can let loose on their fashion choices, pop princesses and Hollywood actress took it up a notch in the avant-garde department at New York’s Met Gala on Monday.

The 2017 Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute ball was themed “Rei Kawakubo/Comme des Garçons: Art of the In-Between,” an homage to highly structured creations of the Japanese designer and her avantgarde label.

Pop singer Katy Perry, a co-chair of the ball, lived up to the theme’s challenge with a custom Maison Margiela “Artisanal” ensemble by John Galliano, an imperial red tulle dress and a veil embroidered with the word “Witness.”

Eric Wilson, fashion news director at InStyle, described this year’s theme as “extremely challenging” compared to years past and agreed that Perry’s outfit was courageously on point.

“I think she’s without a doubt the hit of the night so far,” Wilson said.

“It’s very brave to wear something that disguises who you are so much on the red carpet.”

Rihanna was no slouch either, embodying Kawakubo’s penchant for dramatic silhouettes in a custom Comme des Garçons floral dress with cutouts and oversized ruffles. The singer earned the most mentions on social media, said Kellan Terry, an analyst at

the social media monitoring company Brandwatch.

“Happy” singer Pharrell Williams in jeans and leather jacket, and star couple Tom Brady and Gisele Bundchen in matching silver helped fashion maven and Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour host the annual fundraising gala, which is sometimes referred to as “the Oscars of the East Coast.”

Reality TV star Kim Kardashian went against the theme, sporting a white dress by Vivienne Westwood with no clutch, no jewellery and no Kanye West, her fashion-loving husband. Sister Kendall Jenner dared to be bare, wearing a sheer slip that left little to the imagination, both in front and back.

Donning a beige Ralph Lauren trench coat gown paired with big silver hoop earrings, actress Priyanka Chopra dropped jaws and turned heads. Tennis star Serena Williams also served up drama with a baby bump under her green Atelier Versace dress Actress Zoe Kravitz went with a strapless pink and black Oscar de la Renta gown with an off-the-shoulder train, receiving much praise on social media, where the hashtag #MetGala was top trending.

Wilson said an added plus to Kravitz’s dress is that it “looks comfortable.”

“Some of these pieces are gorgeous on the red carpet,” Wilson said.

“But I’m assuming that a lot of these celebrities are going to be changing once they get through that door and sit down to dinner.”

Selena Gomez takes jibe at former boyfriend Justin Bieber in her latest track AGENCIES

Ed Sheeran drops huge spoiler on ‘Game of Thrones’ surprise cameo AGENCIES Grammy Award-winning singer Ed Sheeran says he is going to sing when he makes his debut on fantasy series Game of Thrones. In an interview with The Hits Radio, Sheeran dropped details about his five-minute cameo on the HBO TV show. “I do a scene with Maisie (Williams). I sing a song and then she goes, ‘oh, that’s a nice song’,” Sheeran said. It was announced last month that he had filmed a cameo appearance for the hit HBO series, as a surprise for actress Maisie Williams. “I do know which role I am going to play. I don’t die in it, I don’t die.

I’m sure a lot of people are into that but I’m not. I’m only in it for like five minutes,” said Sheeran.

Singer Selena Gomez has reportedly teamed up with singer Charli XCX and written a new single through which she is dissing her former boyfriend Justin Bieber.

According to a source, the new song, titled “Bad girlfriend” is about a girl who is getting wiser after taking the blame for a failed relationship despite her boyfriend’s fault.

The lyrics of the song include, I know I’m not there for you or there when you call. I’m a bad girlfriend/ I’m a bad girlfriend.

The source said, “It’s all about

a boyfriend the girl is no longer really into and has finally gotten wise to. It’s tongue-in-cheek and Selena and Charli knew exactly who they were writing about.”

“She sings about how a good girlfriend would just carry on and let their boyfriend walk all over them, with their cheating and what not, but she’s changed her ways,” the source further added.

Gomez is currently dating singer The Weeknd. The couple made their relationship official while attending the red carpet of the 2017 Met Gala at the Metropolitan Museum of Art on Monday.

Documentary maker Michael Moore bringing political satire to broadway AGENCIES Provocative documentary maker Michael Moore is bringing politics to Broadway with a one-man show billed as “guaranteed to take audiences on a ride through the United States of Insanity.” Producers said that Moore, the Oscarwinning maker of thought-provoking films on guns, the war in Iraq and the US healthcare system, will make his Broadway debut in July with The Terms of My Surrender. The 12-week limited run will see the liberal Moore, 63, use his satirical humor to target Washington politics and US Pres-

ident Donald Trump. “So, the question is posed: ‘Can a Broadway show take down a sitting president?’ Well, it’s time to find out,” said the release announcing the show.

Moore, a vocal critic of Trump, won an Oscar in 2003 for his gun violence documentary Bowling for Columbine, and was nominated for an Oscar in 2008 for Sicko, an indictment of the US healthcare industry. He is also the author of best-selling books including Stupid White Men and Here Comes Trouble. In October, three weeks before the 2016 presidential elections, he released the anti-Trump documentary film Michael Moore in Trumpland.

15

‘Furious 8’ revenues ahead to outpace three new releases AGENCIES “The Fate of the Furious” continued to dominate the North American box office over the weekend, fending off newcomers at home while passing the $1 billion mark worldwide, data showed Monday.

The eighth instalment in Universal’s high-octane series starring Vin Diesel and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson took $19.9 million, Exhibitor Relations reported. The film has grossed $193.3 million domestically in three weeks.

“Furious 8,” which had a record-breaking global debut weekend, sees Diesel’s character coerced by a cyberterrorist played by Charlize Theron to turn against his own team.

The next two films, new releases, were led by Pantelion’s “How to be a Latin Lover,” a comedy starring Salma Hayek, Rob Lowe, Kristen Bell and Mexican actor Eugenio Derbez.

It took in an estimated $12.3 million while fantasy “Baahubali: The Conclusion,” a sequel to a 2015 movie and only the third Indian film released in the Imax format, $10.4 million.

In fourth place, still performing strongly in its fifth week, is DreamWorks animation “The Boss Baby,” which took in $9.4 million. The tale of rivalry between infants and puppies features Alec Baldwin as the voice of the tiewearing baby-in-chief. STX Entertainment’s “The Circle,” starring Tom Hanks and Emma Watson in an exploration of privacy, paranoia and Silicon Valley ethics in a near-future world, earned $9 million for the fifth spot.

The industry is awaiting the domestic release at the weekend of “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2,” which took $106 million in foreign markets and is expected to outperform the original “Guardians,” BoxOfficeMojo.com reported.

Rounding out the top 10 were: “Beauty and the Beast” ($6.8 million) “Going in Style” ($3.6 million) “Smurfs: The Lost Village” ($3.6 million) “Gifted” ($3.4 million) “Unforgettable” ($2.4 million)

Kajol says beef in her viral video was legally available buffalo meat

AGENCIES Mumbai: Actress Kajol, who was trolled online for posting a video of a beef dish that her friend had prepared, today clarified that it was actually buffalo meat. The 42-year-old actress issued a statement on Twitter, saying she did not want to hurt religious sentiments. She deleted the clip from her Instagram and Facebook accounts after it attracted negative comments. “A video of me at a friends lunch said that there was a beef dish at the table. That’s a miscommunication. What was shown was buffalo meat, that is legally available meat. Beef is banned in Maharashtra and other parts of the country.

Janet Jackson resumes tour post separation from husband AGENCIES Pop superstar and new mother Janet Jackson said she will resume a tour after nearly a two-year break – this development has occurred post confirming separation from her husband.

Jackson, who had abruptly suspended a tour in 2015 amid the surprise news she was pregnant, announced 56 concerts across North America later this year.

In an online message to fans, Jackson voiced gratitude for her four-month-old son Eissa and acknowledged splitting with her third husband, Qatari tycoon Wissam Al Mana.

“Yes, I separated from my husband, we are in court, and the rest is in God’s hands,” said the 50-year-old younger sis-

ter of the late king of pop Michael Jackson as she lay on a pillow.

Jackson has been discreet since marrying Al Mana, whose company sells luxury fashion brands across Gulf Arab kingdoms and who is estimated to be worth $1 billion.

She initially kept their 2012 wedding private and repeatedly postponed her tour before announcing her pregnancy, which came at an unusually late age.

Jackson in her video said she was changing the name of her tour which was initially called Unbreakable after her 2015 album, her first since her brother’s death.

The tour – to begin on September 7 in Lafayette, Louisiana and close on December 17 in Atlanta – will now be called “State of the World.”

“It’s not about politics. It’s about people, the world, relationships and, just, love,” Jackson said.

“I want to thank you guys for your patience, for all your support throughout the years,” she said to fans.

The tour includes Unbreakable dates

CMYK

that she had tentatively scrapped. However, she has not immediately rescheduled dates in Europe that she cancelled last year.

The reasons behind Jackson’s separation remain murky, with one tabloid saying Al Mana had been too controlling

but other reports saying the split was amicable. Al Mana has publicly declared his love for Jackson, recently voicing hope that “we will be together in the Great Forever.”

“To the most beautiful person in the world, thank you for your divine love, your eternal support and for being my best friend,” he wrote on his website.

Jackson won a major fan base in the late 1980s with her albums “Control” and “Janet Jackson’s Rhythm Nation 1814” as she incorporated the emerging genre of hip-hop into her funk-influenced pop music.

Jackson was one of the pioneers of elaborately choreographed live shows as she brought in socially conscious messages including calls for women’s empowerment.

16 BUSINESS

Wednesday, 3 May, 2017

oil imPortinG countries incluDinG Pakistan may face 30Pc hike in oil imPort bill: imf rePort

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BUSINESS DESK

HE International Monetary Fund (IMF) has warned Pakistan and other oil importers against rising oil bills for 2017 as a result of the rising global prices. The oil import bills are expected to be around 30pc higher than the previous year.

Any further increases could affect consumption, increase fiscal risks, and worsen external imbalances, the IMF has warned in its May 2017 Regional Economic Outlook for the Middle East, the Gulf, and North Africa, Afghanistan and Pakistan (MENAP).

The report goes on to say that the negative impact may be offset partially by higher remittances and other foreign support from oil-exporting countries in the region, principally benefiting Pakistan, Egypt, Jordan and Lebanon.

The IMF considers Pakistan to be among the countries where savings from low oil prices and reduced subsidies have led to increased spending on infrastructure, health care, education, and social services. But the IMF has shown concern that it may be difficult to maintain this spending in the wake of the oil prices being higher than expectations.

Moreover, the IMF report consid-

ered Pakistan to be among the countries that have been able to reduce fiscal deficit, improved business climate and whose growth is supported by enhanced public investment.

The IMF expects the entire region to increase its growth rate of 3.7 pc in 2016 to 4pc in 2017 and 4.4pc in 2018.

The report recognises Pakistan as benefitting from past reforms and whose growth will be supported by the broader global recovery, which is expected to boost demand from the region’s main export markets. The IMF also anticipates that Pakistan will also benefit from the implementation of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor will boost investment.

But the report shows concern over the rising debt-service burden for

Pakistan and other MENAP oil importers, where it absorbed between 28pc and 48pc of revenues in 2016 leaving less for social spending or public investment.

However, IMF is of the view that the fiscal deficit in MENAP countries fell from a high of 9.5pc of gross domestic product in 2013 to about 7pc in 2016. In large part, this improvement reflects reduced fuel subsidies and lower transfers to energy-related stateowned enterprises. In Pakistan, efforts to increase revenue also helped, the report stated.

The IMF encouraged MENAP oil importers to generate higher revenues by broadening the existing tax base.

This can be done through rationalising multiple value-added tax rates while

Pakistan estimated to achieve more than 5 pc GDP growth this fiscal ISLAMABAD STAFF REPORT

Even though the government remains embroiled in a grave political crisis, the country is likely achieve a GDP growth rate of more than five per cent after nine years, as the meeting of the National Accounts Committee is convened to finalise the national accounts for the outgoing financial year (FY17) here on May 15. An official source said that the committee will be discussing the provisional growth figures for the outgoing financial year and finalizing figures for the last financial year. The government had projected a growth target of 5.5 per cent for the current fiscal year, as compared to 4.7 per cent GDP growth of last fiscal year.

The source said that the GDP growth is estimated to remain close to 5.2 per cent, already assessed by the World Bank. The growth would be in the range of 5.2 to 5.5 per cent and the final figure would be assessed by the committee.

He said initial results show an improvement in the agriculture sector that showed a negative growth for the first time in 40 years, during the last financial year.

The incentives provided on agriculture inputs like reducing the GST on fertilizer, have played an important role in crop output enhancement. All the major crops like wheat, maize, rice and sugarcane have shown improvement in production. Cotton production has remained low but is higher than the last year’s yield.

However, the source said that the depressed commodity prices have overall affected the agriculture sector. The growers of wheat, rice and sugarcane got a lesser return on their produce. If the government had been able to export the surplus commodities, it would have further improved the agriculture output.

The source said that the manufacturing sector has shown good growth. The availability of electricity and gas have led to the increase in the output of the manufacturing sector. The growth would have been higher if the exports would have increased during the outgoing financial year. The services sector, the source said, had shown good results like the past years.

HYDERABAD: A vendor busy in making orange juice on his handcart at a roadside setup. INp

KARACHI STAFF REPORT

With the help of a positive mindset, we can achieve a better and sustainable grip on businesses, industry, relationships and the overall life.

The aforementioned statement was agreed by all the speakers at the SC- Creative Business Linkage Seminar, 2017 of the FPCCI, arranged by chairman of the Standing Committee on Banking, Credit and Finance 2017 and a renowned businesswoman Aisha Bela Malik. Together, they organised this seminar with the help of core committee members including; Masroor Peshimam, Nusrat Wahid, and Almas Hamirani.

The list of speakers included M Navaid Khan, Syed Nusrat Ali, and Dr Shahida Sajjad. Shazleen Vahidi Iqbal was the MC and Usman Butt provided the audience with useful tips as to how to achieve overall positivity.

The modules discussed included reflection on positive thinking, self-belief and how to attain a perpetual positive attitude and mindset towards life with positive thinking, resulting in a profound and positive Pakistan.

Prominent UBG leaders; Senator Abdul Haseeb Khan, Gulzar Feroz, Wasim Vohra, Naheed Masud were there to honour the occasion, and they also contributed in the thought-provoking topic.

Pakistan must also focus on simplifying its tax rate structure and eliminate exemptions. Pakistan must also focus on strengthening tax administration, the report added.

Countries such as Pakistan, Egypt, Jordan and Tunisia have a relatively high level of nonperforming loan ratios. The report urged the countries to improve their deposit insurance arrangements.

The report also warns MENAP oil importers of the changes in global financial conditions. While sovereign spreads for many oil importers have narrowed recently, “US interest rates have risen, and tighter and more volatile global financial conditions could increase borrowing costs for MENAP oil importers and their banks, adding to fiscal sustainability concerns, weighing on bank balance sheets, and undermining private sector activity,” it highlighted.

The IMF notes that such tightening could particularly impact countries such as Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Pakistan and Tunisia, who may be competing for funds in international markets.

The report alerts Pakistan, Afghanistan, Egypt and Lebanon that deteriorating security conditions or rising social border tension could negatively impact policy implementation and slow down economic activity.

Dar Directs resolution of all foreiGnfunDeD Projects ISLAMABAD STAFF REPORT

Finance Minister Ishaq Dar on Tuesday directed expeditious resolution of issues that were hindering the implementation of foreign-funded development projects. .

Ishaq Dar chaired a meeting of the senior officials of the Economic Affairs Division (EAD) to review the progress in foreign-funded projects. Senior officials of the EAD and finance division attended the meeting.

Secretary EAD provided the meeting with updates on different ongoing and planned projects with financing from the Asian Development Bank (ADB), DFID, World Bank, AIIB, and other multilateral and bilateral development partners. He also gave a briefing on the Pak-German government to government negotiations on economic cooperation being held in the EAD. The minister emphasised on judicious and transparent utilization of foreign funds for development projects and said that their speedy implementation would facilitate the achievement of government’s objective of inclusive high growth, besides bringing about progress and economic well-being for the people of the country. He also stressed expeditious resolution of issues that hindered in any project's materialisation. The minister also reviewed preparations for the Pakistani delegation’s participation in the Golden Jubilee, 50th annual meeting of the Asian Development Bank scheduled to be held at Yokohama, Japan from 4-7 May, 2017. The ADB board of governors, it may be added, holds an annual meeting to discuss developments in Asia and the Pacific as well as institutional matters.

Positivity can help achieve better grip on businesses: speakers

BUSINESS 17

Wednesday, 3 May, 2017

CORPORATE CORNER finca becomes first bank in Pakistan to receive ‘smart campaign certification’ LAHORE: FINCA Microfinance Bank Limited, Pakistan’s leading microfinance bank, has become the first bank in the country to receive the prestigious Smart Certification in client protection.

With the certification, FINCA Pakistan joins a coveted group of over 75 certified financial institutions worldwide, which are SMART Certified. The certification required an in-depth, independent review of all FINCA Pakistan policies and processes. The positive results of the evaluation reflect FINCA's strong commitment to building transparent and lasting relationship with its clients. Smart Campaign is a global effort to embed a set of client-protection principles into the fabric of the financial industry. This certification is awarded to financial organisations that institutionalise the Smart Campaign's seven Client Protection Principles, which include: appropriate product design and delivery, prevention of over-indebtedness, transparency, responsible pricing, fair and respectful treatment of clients, privacy of client data, and mechanisms for complaint resolution. Commenting on the achievement, FINCA Pakistan’s CEO Mudassar Aqil said, “The Smart Campaign’s Client Protection Principles aim at prudent, transparent, and respectful treatment of clients and also represent implementation of adequate standards of client care. We at FINCA Pakistan are extremely proud to have joined this group of transparent and socially responsible financial institutions across the globe, which have successfully implemented these principles, putting clients first.” Aqil also took the opportunity to commend the efforts of the FINCA team involved in the process of training and educating staff on these client protection principles, as well as facilitating the assessment. He reiterated to continue serving the FINCA clients in their best interests and upholding FINCA’s brand values of trust, warmth and responsible banking. PRESS RElEASE

soneri bank participates in e-banking 2017 conference KARACHI: Today, the banking landscape is undergoing a phenomenal transformation with emerging technologies in the financial service sector. Banks are keen in exploring and investing in new technologies to face the changing dynamics of the market today. The industry is at an early stage of evaluating their strategy and potential partnerships. The focus is on customer empowerment, to provide convenience, minimize cost and give control of financial matters. Soneri Bank participated in the 15th ebanking conference organized by Total Communications in collaboration with Pakistan Software Houses Association (P@SHA) at Mövenpick Hotel, Karachi on 19th April, 2017. The President and Chief Executive Officer, Mohammad Aftab Manzoor, highlighted that bankers need to understand the need of customers and the use of technology accordingly. CIO Soneri Bank Ahmed Saqib participated as a panelist for changing the landscapes of banking - predictions 2018 and moderated for a panel discussion on “third party service management for operational efficiency in financial institutions”.

Soneri Bank actively participated in the exhibition, showcasing their products and services and promoting the Soneri Mobile App via a digital kiosk set-up. Marketing Head of Soneri Bank Fariya Zaeem reiterated the need to rebuild Soneri Bank’s framework for the tech-savvy, younger generation already exposed to innovation on various digital platforms. The innovation journey should be part of the business strategy and aligned with the company’s objectives. Soneri Bank, with its mission to provide innovative and efficient financial solutions, is onboard to adapt to changing marketing trends in the digitalised world and make a difference in customers' experience. Roshan Har Qadam! PRESS RElEASE

KARACHI: Master Motors Managing Director Nadeem Malik and Azeem Lodhi with team. pr

cPi inflation enhances by 4.8 Per cent yoy KARACHI

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ARSHAD HUSSAIN

HE country’s Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation increased by 4.8 per cent year-on-year (YoY) basis in April 2017, as compared to 4.9 per cent in the previous month or 4.2 per cent in April, 2016.

On a month-on-month basis, it increased by 1.4 per cent in April, 2017 as compared to an increase of 0.8 per cent in the previous month and an increase of 1.5 per cent in April, 2016, states the data revealed by Pakistan Bureau of Statistic (PBS) here on Tuesday.

“Oil prices have recently trended downwards, currently standing at $49.6 per barrel vs. $50.3 per barrel at the end of March, 2017,” said the analyst at Taurus securities. The CPI inflation is directly linked with the petroleum prices and food inflation, which increased in the month of April, 2017 he added. The federal government, however, maintained the petroleum prices till 15th of May, 2017. Therefore, it is being hoped that the CPI inflation will be stable during May this year.

The analyst forecasts CPI at 4.3 per cent YoY as against 2.86 per cent YoY in the current fiscal year. The main factors that would drive inflation in view for the next two months are i) Ramadan's impact on food prices ii) Strong domestic cotton prices (Avg. Rs 6,867/maund in April, 2017 vs. Avg. Rs 5,700/maund in June, 2016) keeping the

clothing index elevated in the coming months, and iii) the impact of increments in custom/regulatory duties on consumer products in the budget.

He further said that the current trends suggest that the actual inflation would be lower than the actual target of 6 per cent in 2016-17.

“This time, the ministry of finance did not increase the petroleum prices for next 15 days and the government's decision would support the core inflation in the coming months,” another analyst said. “We are looking inflation at above 4.5 per cent in May and June, 2017 only because of higher petroleum prices in the international market.

Core inflation, measured by non-food non-energy CPI (Core NFNE) increased by 5.5 per cent on (YoY) basis in April, 2017 as compared to an increase of 5.3 per cent in the previous month and 4.4 per cent in April, 2016. On a MoM basis, it increased by 1.3 per cent in April, 2017 as compared to an increase of 0.1 per cent in the previous month, and an increase of 1.1 per cent in the corresponding month of last year i.e. April, 2016.

Core inflation, measured by 20 per cent weighted trimmed mean CPI (Core Trimmed) increased by 4.8 per cent on (YoY) basis in April, 2017 as compared to 4.5 per cent in the previous month and by 3.8 per cent in April, 2016. On MoM basis, it increased by 0.8 per cent in April, 2017 as compared to an increase of 0.2 per cent in the previous month and an increase of 0.6 per cent in the corresponding month of last year i.e. April,

2016.

SPI inflation YoY increased by 2.3 per cent in April, 2017 as compared to an increase of 3.1 per cent a month earlier, and an increase of 2.9 per cent in April 2016. On MoM basis, it decreased by 0.9 per cent in April, 2017 as compared to an increase of 1.8 per cent a month earlier and a decrease of 0.1 per cent in April, 2016.

Wholesale Price Index (WPI) inflation on a YoY basis increased by 6.0 per cent in April, 2017 as compared to an increase of 6.4 per cent a month earlier and an increase of 0.6 per cent in April, 2016. WPI inflation on a MoM basis increased by 0.9 per cent in April, 2017 as compared to an increase of 0.7 per cent a month earlier and an increase of 1.3 per cent in the corresponding month of last year, April 2016.

The minutes of March, 2017 MPC meeting indicates that the SBP is not overly concerned on the domestic inflation front, where it projected 2017-17 inflation at 3.8 per cent (at an oil price of $55/bbl in the remaining period of FY17) but rather focuses on reducing the output gap.

LSM growth has been ascending upwards on a sequential basis since September, 2016. However, 8 month 2016-17 LSM growth stands at 4.12 per cent; almost flat compared to 4.33 per cent in CPLY, which also suggests the likelihood of the government missing the GDP target of 5.5 per cent for 2016-17. The analyst believes that focus on growth will affect interest rates trajectory going forward. Based on 12 months forecast for average inflation, the analyst said that the interest rate may hike 50 basis points in late calendar year 2017.

Food items: Increased: Fresh Vegetables (20.64%), Fresh Fruits (8.74%), Chicken (3.34%), Potatoes (2.81%), and Rice (2.55%). decreased: Tomatoes (5.57%), Onion (2.77%), Wheat (2.65%), Pulse Gram (2.05%), and Pulse Masoor (1.49%).

NoN-Food items: Increased: Education (6.5%), Personal Equipment (2.08%), Water Supply (2.08%), and House rent (1.52%).

SECP prescribes new criteria for investment by mutual funds ISLAMABAD STAFF REPORT

The Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) has laid down the criteria for mutual funds investment in listed equity securities, under which a substantial part of the mutual funds investment would only be made in those equity securities which meet the requirements pertaining to freefloat and minimum number of traded days A spokesman for SECP said that the criteria has been finalised to safeguard the interests of unit holders of collective investment schemes, while ensuring better risk management by the Asset Management Companies (AMCs).

The SECP had taken an initiative to strengthen the risk management framework already in place at AMCs. For this purpose, a detailed in-house study was conducted by the SECP to identify the eligible securities for mutual funds’ investment. As a result of the said study and after consultation with the stakeholders, a criterion has

been finalised for identification of eligible equity securities for mutual fund’s investment.

According to the criteria, a substantial part of the mutual funds’ investment shall be made in equity securities which meet the requirements pertaining to free-float and the minimum number of traded days. AMCs are also required to consider the financial strength of the investing company, i.e. net worth, trading status on PSX, and its regulatory compliance. Moreover, weightage shall also be given to the observations in respective auditor’s reports.

It is important to mention the the mutual fund industry of Pakistan has shown tremendous growth in the recent past. The assets under management of AMCs have increased from Rs 546 billion as of June 30, 2017 to Rs 694 billion as of March 31, 2017, showing an increase of Rs 148 billion or 27 per cent during the first nine months of FY 2016-17. The significant increase in assets under management further necessitates the need for adequate risk management to protect investors.

Planning Commission proposes Rs16.5b for 50,000 housing units in budget BUSINESS DESK In a cabinet meeting held on April 12, the Planning Commission has proposed an allocation of Rs16.5 billion in the upcoming budget for the construction of 50,000 housing units for the low-income group under the Prime Minister’s Home Ownership Programme for Everyone (HOPE).

The meeting was chaired by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. The cabinet was apprised that urbanisation in Pakistan is one of the fastest in South Asia. As a result of this, its annual demand for housing units stood at 700,000. However, only

250,000 units could be constructed leaving a huge disparity between the demand and supply. Moreover, it was informed that the accumulated shortage has increased to around 10m units.

A senior government official is reported to have said that the cabinet was informed about the need for one-window facility for home developers.

The proposal stated that as many as 50,000 units should be constructed under the public-private partnership (PPP) mode with a special allocation of Rs8.58b while Rs8b should be allocated as a contingent liability after two years under the

credit guarantee scheme for the risk coverage of banks.

It was also proposed that the initiative should target the salaried public and private sector employees initially, as no downpayment was required since people had the capital for schemes sponsored by the trusted developers.

Meeting participants also stated that the existing land should be optimally utilised and State Bank of Pakistan’s refinance schemes could be altered so as to reduce the government cost of the initiative.

Under a strategy, 100,000 houses would be planned in the first phase for

which a specialised entity should coordinate, supervise, facilitate and innovate under the realm of PPP. Pre-qualified reputable private-sector firms would be co-opted as partners through a co-branding mechanism. A minimum of 20pc units would be reserved for affordable housing in each housing project.

The minister of planning, development and reform proposed three financing options for the initiative including markup subsidy on 20,000 housing units for the middle-income group, downpayment subsidy on 20,000 units for the lower middle-

income group and underwriting of the risk by the federal government for bank financing for 10,000 units for the low-income group. Other financing options included real estate investment trusts, launching HOPE savings bond/rupee-denominated investment bonds for Pakistani diaspora, balloting system or subsidies on construction input or tax breaks for the developers and contractors.

After detailed discussions, the cabinet formed a committee to be chaired by the minister of housing and works to present the final proposal before the cabinet for approval.

18 SPORTS

Wednesday, 3 May, 2017

UEFA to ConSIdEr hUmAn rIghtS rECordS For EUro 2024 hoSt LAUSANNE

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AGENCIES

HE host nation of Euro 2024 must meet certain criteria relating to the respect of human rights, UEFA said on Monday as they prepare to choose between the candidacies of Germany and Turkey.

The countries are the only two to have submitted declarations of interest in hosting the competition and UEFA will decide between the two in September 2018.

"For the first time ever, these bid requirements contain specific criteria relat-

ing to the respect of human rights," UEFA said in a statement.

The criteria are based on the United Nations´ Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights and other UN conventions.

Criteria regarding compliance and anticorruption measures have also been included as requirements. "The protection of human rights and labour rights is of the utmost importance for UEFA," said Aleksander Ceferin, the president of European football´s governing body.

"From now on, bidding nations will have to adhere strictly to these articles in the framework of the organisation of all

our tournaments and finals."

After Euro 2016, the first 24-team tournament held in France and won by Portugal, Euro 2020 will be held in 13 different cities around Europe, with the semi-finals and final to be played at Wembley in London.

If Turkey succeeds in its bid for 2024, it will be the biggest sporting event ever held in the country. It has already failed in three previous bids to host the Euros.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan recently claimed a narrow victory in a referendum on expanding his powers.

Opponents claim it will lead to one-

man rule while the government says it will ensure political stability for a country that has experienced multiple unstable coalitions.

Around 47,000 people have been arrested in Turkey under a nine-month state of emergency in place since a failed military coup in July 2016.

World champion Mark Selby delighted to match Davis, Hendry and O'Sullivan SportS DESk World number one Mark Selby says he cannot believe he has joined snooker's greats by claiming back-to-back World Championship titles at the Crucible.

Selby, 33, became only the fourth player after Steve Davis, Stephen Hendry and Ronnie O'Sullivan to retain their crown in the modern era.

"I'm speechless to be in that group, wow," he told BBC Sport after fighting back to beat John Higgins 18-15.

"I still cannot believe I have won it for a third time."

Selby's triumph was his fifth ranking title victory of the season and extended his stay at the top of the world rankings to a 116th consecutive week.

"I was over the moon to be coming here as defending champion. I just wanted to put up a good fight," he added.

"I feel I have another world title in me. At my age, I have a good five to seven years still to play at the top and it comes down to the hunger, which I still have."

Asked how it felt to be at the top of the rankings, Selby replied: "It is great.

You look at those still playing the game like Higgins and O'Sullivan, Judd Trump and Ding Junhui, and to be above all of them is an amazing feeling."

He was below his best on Sunday and another world title looked in jeopardy at 10-4 down, but a run of nine out of 10 frames turned the match around on Monday.

The comeback specialist was 10-5 down against O'Sullivan in 2014, before eventually triumphing 18-14.

"In the semi-final against Ding and the final I had to dig deep to get through," he said.

"The resolve comes from within.

You either have it in you or you don't.

Some people let their head go down and give in when someone gets on top of them but I know I won't play well every match."

'The toughest player I ever played' Higgins, 41, made a 141 break in the final but wilted under pressure from his opponent and was unable to add to his four crowns.

He said: "Without a shadow of a

doubt, Mark will add to his tally. He could be the challenger to Stephen Hendry's seven, I really believe that.

He is just granite. He is really tough to play against.

"Mark is right up there. I never played Davis in his peak but he was meant to be difficult to play against, Hendry was a different kind of player, as was Ronnie but Mark is the toughest player I have ever played.

"He will dominate for the foreseeable future. Ronnie and myself are in the 40s, we are still good players but age is catching up.

"Neil Robertson, Trump and Ding need to challenge him and watching that tonight will make them desperate

to get back on the practice table."

'The ultimate machine' Selby lags four behind all-time leader Hendry in world title victories and laughed off suggestions he could reach that number.

But six-time winner Davis feels Selby is the "dominant character" while 1991 champion John Parrott says he is "the whole package".

Davis said on BBC TV: "When we look at the quality of players that are potential winners, to think there is a dominant character forcing his way through is amazing.

"Selby is an exceptional player and exceptional match player. It is going to take some young player coming through who takes every part of his game and becomes stronger to knock him off his perch."

Parrott added: "Every facet of his game is there, his safety play is excellent, he knows when to scrap, if he wants to fight or break the balls open he can do that and his temperament is outstanding. That is his trump card above anything else.

"He is the ultimate machine when it comes to match play. The nature of this tournament - the long matches suits his game, he gets better and stronger as it goes on."

Selby also matches the record of five ranking titles in a season, previously achieved by Hendry in 1990/91 and Ding Junhui in 2013/14, and now has 12 in total.

Liverpool tightens hold on third in Premier League SportS DESk Emre Can scored a sensational overhead bicycle kick as Liverpool galvanised their grip on third place in the Premier League by winning 1-0 at Watford on Monday.

Having seen top-four rivals Manchester City, Manchester United and Arsenal all drop points on Sunday, Liverpool capitalised thanks to Can's jawdropping effort in first-half injury time.

The Germany midfielder's fifth goal of the season took Liverpool three points above fourth-place City, al-

beit having played a game more, inching Jurgen Klopp's side closer to Champions League qualification.

"The goal was spectacular, of course," Liverpool manager Klopp told Sky Sports.

"It was clear we have to work and that is what we did. It won't be easy for anyone to win here. "We needed a bit of luck, but we worked hard for it."

It was Liverpool's third successive away win and got them back on track after a 2-1 home defeat by Crystal Palace on their previous outing had ended a seven-game unbeaten streak.

The only disappointment for the men in red at Vicarage Road was the early departure of playmaker Philippe Coutinho with what Klopp confirmed was a dead leg. Walter Mazzarri's Watford remain 13th, having been denied a last-gasp equaliser when centre-back Sebastian Prodl's crisp effort thudded against the crossbar.

"We didn't deserve to lose," said Mazzarri.

"Their wonder goal means nothing is going on our side because the first real chance they had, and it wasn't really a chance, they took it."

M'Baye Niang registered an early shot on target for the hosts, but a sleepy start to the game was remarkable more for injuries than penalty-box action.

Coutinho came off second-best in an early collision with recalled Watford defender Adrian Mariappa.

- Success supplies fizz The Brazil international soldiered on until the 13th minute before giving way for Adam Lallana, who came on to make his first appearance after a month out with a groin injury.

Six minutes later Watford were forced into a change of their own when defender Miguel Britos signalled that he was unable to continue, which brought Christian Kabasele into the fray.

Liverpool went close with a couple of efforts from distance, Can extending Heurelho Gomes from range and Lallana rattling the bar with a stunning 20yard volley after Gomes had punched clear.

The visitors were toiling, their lack of ideas exposed when Lucas Leiva received a 44th-minute booking for a totally unconvincing attempt to win a penalty off Tom Cleverley.

CMYK

Sultan Azlan Shah Cup: Australia defeats India by 3-1 NEW DELHI AGENCIES

The Indian men's hockey team suffered their first loss at the 2017 Sultan Azlan Shah Hockey tournament, losing 1-3 to world champions Australia in Ipoh, Malaysia on Tuesday. Losing the experienced goalkeeper PR Sreejesh in the 13th minute proved a major setback for India, as his replacement Akash Chikte allowed the Kookaburras to go up 2-1 shortly into the second half when a goal went through his legs. This despite India being put ahead in the second quarter thanks to Harmanpreet Singh's third goal of the tournament. The marquee clash of the tournament, featuring the top highest-ranked teams, threw up some engaging moments overall but it was a tale of missed opportunities for India. Nine-time winners of the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup Australia were provided a chance in the opening minute of the game, only for Trent Mitten to fail to convert the penalty corner. A keen tussle ensued between the teams, with plenty of chances missed. Australian goalkeeper Tyler Lovell saved a goal with his left mit and Sreejesh was briefly in action before he limped off in the 13th minute after a painful blow to the knee while diving across the goal. Harmanpreet broke the deadlock in the 25th minute with a lovely shovel past Lovell, but with 40 seconds left on the clock Eddie Ockenden drew the equalizer to send the teams into half-time at 1-1. Here is where India really missed Sreejesh, for a fine piece of work from Tom Craig during the second half then put Australia ahead, the in-form striker slotting a goal between Chikte's legs. Moments later, SV Sunil - in his 201st game - was carded and sent off, leaving India further depleted. Australia attacked more during the second half, while Sardar Singh and Akashdeep Singh each came close to scoring goals only for India to each time be denied. In the 51st minute, Tom Wickham fired in Australia's third goal and from there on the world No 1 staved off any challenge India could throw up.

India's defeat follows a 2-2 draw with Great Britain and a 3-0 win over New Zealand. They next play Japan on Wednesday at 13:55 IST. Australia's campaign before today's match featured a 1-1 draw with New Zealand and a 6-1 hammering of hosts Malaysia.

SPORTS 19

Wednesday, 3 May, 2017

European Athletics taskforce apologises to gB athletes over world records LoNDoN AGENCIES

British athletes who may lose their world records have received an apology from the man responsible for the controversial anti-doping proposal. Paula Radcliffe, Jonathan Edwards and Colin Jackson are among "collateral damage" says European Athletics taskforce chair Pierce O'Callaghan. But he told BBC Radio 5 live: "There is a bigger picture out there." All pre-2005 records could be rewritten under the new rules, which need to be ratified by governing body, the IAAF. O'Callaghan said: "Apologies to the athletes, we never intended to damage their reputation and legacy. It is intended to give the public belief and credibility in what they are watching in the sport." But BBC athletics commentator and former world 1500m champion Steve Cram called the proposals an "easy route out" and "a PR exercise". Cram set world records for the 1500m, mile and 2,000m in the space of 19 days in 1985, and still holds the European records for the latter two distances - although under the proposals those pre-2005 European records would join world records in being reset. He added that the measures are "not going to stop people cheating".

The IAAF (International Association of Athletics Federations) has only stored blood and urine samples since 2005 and current records that do not meet the new criteria would remain on an "all-time list", but not be officially recognised as records if the IAAF accepts the proposal. European Athletics president Hansen said he would encourage the IAAF to adopt the proposal at its August council meeting, while IAAF president Lord Coe said the changes were "a step in the right direction". The world records to fall would include Edwards' triple jump mark of 18.29m - set in 1995 - and Jackson's 1994 indoor 60m hurdles world best of 7.30secs, as well as Radcliffe's marathon time of two hours 15 minutes 25 seconds, set in 2003 using two male pacemakers. O'Callaghan compared the changes to English football introducing the Premier League above the First Division in 1992 and rugby union's Five Nations becoming the Six Nations in 2000, and said the records will be "recalibrated". "We hope people look at it in that vein, rather than stripping great athletes like Paula of their records," added O'Callaghan, who said he had spoken to Radcliffe and Edwards. "Unfortunately Paula ran her records in a golden period that happens to be two years before the technology moved on. "People should not look at Paula's records and throw them in with doping records - she achieved her performance, as did Jonathan, with 100% integrity.

"This is about the bigger picture of reform in athletics and ensuring the public in events like the London World Championships [in August 2017], that they can believe what they are watching."

PCB to roPE In mISBAh, YoUnIS AFtEr rEtIrEmEnt ISLAMABAD

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APP

AKISTAN Cricket Board (PCB) would be offering skipper Misbah ul Haq and batsman Younis Khan top roles after their retirement from Test cricket at the end of series against West Indies.

Misbah and Younis had announced to retire after the end of the series against West Indies.

It may be mentioned also be here that Younis became the first Pakistani batsman to score 10,000 runs in Test Cricket while skipper Misbah also completed silver jubilee of victories as Test captain in the first test against West Indies.

Responding to a question here at Pindi Stadium, Rawalpindi, PCB Chairman Shahryar Khan said Mis-

bahul Haq and Younis would be offered top roles by the board after their retirement from Test cricket at the

Dominion Team wins MP Bhandara Memorial Polo Cup

rAWALpINDI STAFF REPORT

The 113th Bhandara Memorial Polo Cup 2017 witnessed great matches. The final was won by the Dominion team with which scored 5 goals against the runner ups: Ten Corps, who happened to score only 2 goals.

The match was held at Polo Ground Rawalpindi and saw the

two teams give an outstanding performance to a large crowd of spectators. The Dominion team was handed over the Trophy to mark their victory. British High Commissioner Thomas Drew was the Chief Guest for the occasion.

The chief guest, along with MNA Malik Abrar Ahmed, Station Commander Rawalpindi Syed Hassan Raza and Chief executive of Murree Brewery As-

fandyar Bhandara distributed the prized among the players.

The final match was watched by ambassadors of Denmark, Bulgaria, Cuba, Sri Lanka, Portugal, Nepal and Mauritius.

The ambassadors were presented with souvenirs for gracing the ceremony. MP Bhandara Polo Cup is regularly organized at Rawalpindi Polo Ground, Peshawar Road since 1904.

Celtic dominate PFA Scotland awards with moussa dembele shortlisted for two SportS DeSk: Celtic striker Moussa Dembele has been shortlisted for player and young player of the year in the PFA Scotland awards. The 20-year-old Frenchman is joined in the senior list by team-mates Stuart Armstrong and Scott Sinclair, plus Aberdeen wide man Jonny Hayes. His opponents for the young player award are team-mates Patrick Roberts and Kieran Tierney, the holder, along with Hibernian striker Jason Cummings. The winners will be announced on Sunday 7 May at the PFA's annual dinner. Celtic players have won the last three top-flight player of the year awards and have only failed to win it twice in the past 13 seasons. Motherwell striker Michael Higdon topped the list in 2013, Rangers midfielder Steven Davis took the award in 2010, while Rangers defender Fernando Ricksen shared it with Celtic's John Hartson in 2005. Players make the shortlist after voting among players in the Scottish Professional Football League. Striker Leigh Griffiths was their top choice last season, with midfielder Stefan Johansen the year before and Kris Commons in 2014. If Hayes were to win, he would become the first Dons player to take the award since Scotland midfielder Jim Bett in 1990. The shortlists for the Championship, League One and League Two player of the year awards were announced last week. Cummings, whose goals have helped Hibs win promotion, was shortlisted for Championship player of the year as well as the overall young player award. Left-back Tierney could become the first to win the young player award twice since Aberdeen midfielder Eoin Jess in 1993 - and the first to win it two years running since Hearts defender Craig Levein in 1986.

Windies claim late wickets as Pakistan close on 172-3 SportS DESk West Indies hit back with three wickets in the final hour after a 155-run opening stand as Pakistan reached stumps at 172 for three in reply to the home side’s first innings total of 312 on the second day of the second Test at Kensington Oval in Barbados on Monday.

Azhar Ali held firm at one end for an unbeaten 81 in a five-hour vigil after opening partner Ahmed Shehzad rode outrageous moments of luck to contribute 70 in the first-wicket partnership. He resumes on the third morning alongside captain Misbah ul Haq. Leg-spinner Devendra Bishoo eventually broke through for the home side by having Shehzad caught at slip before adding the prized scalp of Younis Khan for a “duck” when the veteran pulled a longhop to Shannon Gabriel at midwicket.

In between those dismissals, Gabriel removed Babar Azam, also without scoring, to a catch off his own bowling. It was no more than the burly fast bowler deserved although his earlier misfortune

was compounded by chronic no-ball problems.

Dropped at mid-on by Vishaul Singh just as Pakistan started their reply in the morning session, Shehzad was then ruled

LBW off Gabriel when on 21 in the postlunch period only for the decision to be overturned after television replays determined the delivery to be a no-ball.

Lightning then struck twice for the

CMYK

end series against West Indies.

"When both Misbah and Younis would return from West Indies we will give them a proposal regarding work with the board and hopefully they will accept it," he had said.

Meanwhile, former International Cricket Council (ICC) President Zaheer Abbas Wednesday had also urged PCB to utilise the services of Misbah and Younis for the betterment of the game in the country.

He said PCB should make the most out of Misbah and Younis after their retirement as they can educate young and upcoming players.

"Young players can learn a lot from Misbah and Younis and their experience would prove useful to players in many ways," he told APP.

same man after he was stranded down the pitch and stumped to the bowling of off-spinner Roston Chase on 32, the batsman almost reaching the pavilion when he was summoned by the umpires to return to the crease as the replays again showed the bowler to have transgressed the front crease.

"There was variable bounce out there so it was really difficult to get going, but I have to admit that I had more than my fair share of luck," said Shehzad.

"I can't give enough credit to Azhar for the way he has played and if he can continue on the third day and help give us a lead, then we have a good chance to win this match and the series."

Lucky moments Those lucky moments consolidated what had been Pakistan’s day until the final hour after they wrapped up the West Indies first innings within an hour of the start.

Mohammad Abbas led the visiting bowlers’ effort with two more wickets to finish with four for 56, the best figures by a Pakistan fast bowler in Test innings at

the venue, bettering Wasim Akram’s four for 73 in 1988, as the home team lost their last four wickets for the addition of 26 more runs.

West Indies’ hopes of pushing towards a total closer to the 400-run mark were dashed within the first nine deliveries of the morning as their first-day heroes, Chase and Jason Holder, were dismissed without any addition to the overnight total of 286 for six.

Holder was the first to go, his late decision to pull away from an Abbas delivery resulting in an inside-edge to wicketkeeper Sarfraz Ahmed. Mohammad Amir then removed Chase, whose 131 was the first Test century by a Barbadian on home soil for 18 years. Drawn forward by a full-length delivery, his indeterminate prod resulted in a thick outside edge for Younis Khan to snare his third catch of the innings at second slip.

Bishoo played in his usual pugnacious manner but Abbas’ request of his captain for another over reaped immediate rewards when Bishoo lifted an ondrive to Yasir Shah at mid-on. Shah then wrapped up the innings when Alzarri Joseph was bowled missing a heave at a full-toss in the leg-spinner’s first over of the morning.

SPORTS Wednesday, 3 May, 2017

PHF Finalises GlasGow Million-dollar Stokes as venue For FiH Home hits maiden T20 century and away leaGue NEW DELHI AGENCIES

LaHorE

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AGENCIES

HE Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) has finalised Glasgow as the venue for the FIH Home and Away League which is expected to start in 2019, and has informed the FIH, the world governing body for the sport, about it as well.

Argentina, Australia, Belgium, England, Germany, India, Ireland, Japan, Korea, Netherlands, New Zealand, South Africa, Spain, China, Italy, USA and Malaysia are interested in becoming part of the FIH Home and Away League alongside Pakistan.

The new revolutionary format is a step taken by the FIH to promote the sport and the PHF wants Pakistan to be a part of it as per their drive to improve the sport in the country.

The league would provide opportunities for Pakistan players to compete with international players and be at par

with them and also to acclimatise to European conditions.

“We are trying to avail this opportunity to get a place in the Home and Away League. This will be a massive step in our pursuit to revive hockey in Pakistan. We won’t improve a lot without competing with European teams and this league will give us that opportunity,” said PHF Secretary Shahbaz

Ahmed Sr when the league was announced.

Apart from cities in England, the PHF also considered Dubai and Muscat as venues for hosting the matches but players and coaches alike wanted to play in English conditions, hence, Glasgow was finalised as the venue. The other English location in consideration was Birmingham

well," said Smith.

"We were very excited to get him. I had said before the auction to the guys (owners) just do what you have to get him."

In another match Monday a star-studded Royal Challengers Bangalore, led by India captain Virat Kohli, became the first team to crash out of the play-off race after suffering a five-wicket loss to Mumbai Indians.

‘Too late now to play a farewell match’

Pakistan surpasses India to clinch third spot in ICC T20 rankings

SportS DESk

LaHorE

It has been around a year that Shahid Afridi played his last international match for Pakistan, but he still remains the superstar for a huge group of cricket fans in Pakistan.

The all-rounder, known among his fans as ‘Boom Boom,’ addressed countless press conferences, responded to hundreds of thousands of questions from media throughout his career, but this time he chose to answer his fans directly, live.

Afridi took to Facebook and Twitter for a live-video session to answer fans’ questions, with hashtag #AskAfridi to help the former captain filter out the questions meant for the sessions.

Afridi was asked questions about everything, from his personal life to cricketing career, from his bitter memories to memorable moments and from his future plans to politics.

Replying to a question, Afridi said it was “too late” now to play a farewell match. Looking back at his career, he said that he regretted the ball biting incident of 2010 and that it should not have happened.

The former captain said that winning the World T20 in 2009 was the best moment of his career.

To a question, he also praised India captain Virat Kohli for his outstanding performances and aggressive style of playing the game.

A fan asked if Afridi would ever join politics in future, to which

AGENCIES

Pakistan have edged past India to climb to third spot in the ICC T20I Team Rankings, following the annual update carried out by the governing body to ensure the table continues to reflect the recent form of the teams.

World T20 2009 champions Pakistan gained five points to join England on 121 points. The Green Shirts are now ranked behind England by a fraction of a point.

India lost six points to slip to fourth position. With 118 points, they are now three points behind Pakistan.

England jumped to second place, rising three spots, and are four points behind the top-ranked New Zealand.

Rising Pune Supergiant´s record-breaking investment in Ben Stokes has paid dividends, with the England allrounder delivering a blistering maiden Twenty20 century to secure his Indian Premier League team a crucial victory.

Stokes -- whose $2.16 million contract broke the IPL signing record for a foreign player -- hit an unbeaten 63-ball 103 during the Supergiant´s fivewicket win over the Gujarat Lions on Monday.

"He´s done a terrific job for us. We paid a big amount to get him. We know he´s a quality player. (He) certainly earned his cash tonight," Supergiant captain Steve Smith said of their star performer after the win.

The left-handed batsman, who came into bat with Pune precariously placed at 10 for three, put on a 76-run fifth-wicket partnership with Mahendra Singh Dhoni who made 26.

Supergiant chased down their 162-run target with a ball to spare to keep in the top half of the league´s eight-team ranking.

Stokes, who has won three man-of-thematch awards in eight IPL matches this season, smashed seven fours and six sixes in front of a raucous home crowd.

"Allrounders are so valuable in T20 cricket and he bats, bowls and fields well.

He´s a perfect fit for our team, particularly after Mitchell Marsh was ruled out as

South Africa slipped two places to fifth ranking, followed by Australia at sixth spot.

West Indies, Sri Lanka and Afghanistan are at seventh, eighth and ninth spots, respectively, followed by Bangladesh at tenth.

the cricketer said he was not made for politics and would be thrown out of any party quickly. He urged Pakistani politicians to keep individual differences aside and unite in favour of the country.

His live video session received over 200,000 views on Facebook, with over 30,000 questions sent his way, but – understandably – it was not possible for him to answer all the questions.

Afridi said that it was always good to stay connected with his fans. Shahid Afridi isn’t the first player to use social media for direct interaction with his fans. Former captain Wasim Akram has done so in the past; all-rounder Shoaib Malik has also taken fans’ questions live on social media.

No-balls a sign of ill-discipline: Estwick BrIDgEtoWN AGENCIES

Twice during the second session in Bridgetown on Monday, West Indies were denied the wicket of Ahmed Shehzad on account of a bowler overstepping. In the first instance, Shannon Gabriel struck Shehzad plumb in front of the stumps, only for a review to show it was a no-ball. Shehzad was on 21 at the time and that delivery was Gabriel's sixth no-ball of the innings. A few overs later, Roston Chase, bowling off spin, would have had Shehzad out stumped for 32 had he not overstepped. Overall, West Indies conceded nine runs in no-balls in Pakistan's innings on the second day, eight from Gabriel.

It was the kind of performance that West Indies' bowling coach Roddy Estwick said was a sign of "ill-discipline", and prompted him to suggest some sort of penalty so that bowlers would start taking responsibility for these mistakes on the field.

"We have to make sure there is some kind of action starting from the nets, people have to be penalized for it," Estwick said. "Because you can't continue at the international level to be bowling no-balls.

For me, it's ill-disciplined because you can go through ODIs and T20Is and not bowl no-balls, and then you come into Test matches and you are bowling a clus-

ter of them. To make it even worse, the spinners are bowling no-balls and that is not acceptable at all.

"They could be fines, they could be any punishments - for every no-ball that you bowl, you have to do 10 sprints, whatever. But there must be some way that people will take accountability for what's happening. You have to accept the responsibility, it's you bowling no-balls.

I can only help you prepare but when you go out in the middle you have to be as disciplined as possible.

"Just like, if a person plays a bad shot, there is nothing a batting coach can do about it. If someone drops a catch, they blame the fielding coach but I think it's all down to discipline, everybody making sure that on the field of play he is as disciplined as possible. I will try and correct it in the nets but it is up to the players to take ownership when they walk out on the field."

The no-ball issue isn't a new one facing the side. In the first Test in Jamaica, West Indies gave away 12 runs in no-balls in Pakistan's first innings, six from Gabriel. Although there were no wickettaking chances squandered because of overstepping in that innings, West Indies still ended up conceding 27 runs in extras in Pakistan's total of 407.

West Indies did fight back in the final session in Bridgetown on Monday, taking three wickets in a space of five overs, but Estwick said the team would have to lift

their game considerably given the lack of assistance for seamers on the track and Pakistan's score of 172 for 3 at the end of the day, 140 runs behind West Indies' first-innings total of 312. Estwick stressed they couldn't allow Pakistan to run away with a big first-innings lead.

"We were very sloppy between lunch

and tea," he said. "That's the area that we have got to improve. We dropped one or two catches. We got wickets off no-balls.

That's the focus we have to try and improve on because you can't afford, on an unresponsive pitch like this for seam bowlers, to make the kind of mistakes we did during lunch and tea. We came back

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nicely between tea and close of play but before tea it was disheartening to see the performance.

"We have to correct it and correct it quickly because we can't allow Pakistan to get a lead. Because once they get a lead, going into day three or four, that is going to be very, very difficult."